


I Need You Whole

by Shiverslightly



Series: I Need You Whole [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Bottom Keith (Voltron), Bottom Lance (Voltron), Breeding Agreement, Comfort, Established Pining, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, POV Keith (Voltron), POV Lance (Voltron), Pining, Post-Season/Series 03, Pre-Season/Series 04, Sexual Content, Smut, klance, klangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2018-12-17 15:13:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 33,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11854215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiverslightly/pseuds/Shiverslightly
Summary: Since taking over the lead role Lance had noticed Keith slowly spending more time around him. At first Lance thought he was imagining it. That maybe his desperate need for Keith to notice him had finally made him snap and he'd gone into full on hallucination mode, reading into things that weren't really there. And yet lately every time Lance got the feeling someone might be watching him he'd look up to find those large, deep violet eyes on him.Keith had found himself listening and trusting in Lance, his inner conscience even speaking to him in Lance's voice when he knew he needed to ease up and stick with the team. He’d found solace in Lance and had started naturally gravitating towards him. Being in Lance’s space had given Keith a clearer picture of him and it wasn’t long before he began to really take notice of Lance. His smooth, light brown skin, bright blue eyes, the way his whole face lit up when he smiled, his full bottom lip…Taking place after the events of Season 3, Keith and Lance struggle to come to terms with their new roles on the team. They find comfort in each other, but for how long?





	1. Chapter 1

_I can't do this_ , Keith thought to himself for the hundredth time that night. He'd been lying on his back staring at the ceiling for a long time now. Sprawled on his bed with the sheets crumpled and kicked aside as he'd tossed and turned relentlessly, trying to stop his self deprecating thoughts. He felt his failures heavy on his chest. Becoming the red paladin had felt so right. Whether he was hurtling through space in Red or battling Galra soldiers with sword in hand he had finally felt like he'd found his place. But like everything else good in his life it didn't last long.

He didn't want to lead. Making decisions for the greater good despite his own desires was something he felt barely capable of. With Shiro's return he'd desperately hoped things would go back to before. He had even gladly offered to step aside and remain on the castle while Shiro piloted the black lion, though inside he’d been aching to get back into Red and take on Prince Lotor, where he'd finally be able to do as he pleased. That the black lion might no longer respond to Shiro was not something he'd considered.

Keith had assumed Shiro and Black's connection ran deeper than any of the other paladins and their lions. Shiro had managed to keep control of Black over Zarkon for Christ's sake. So how was it possible that after only a couple of missions Black would be Keith's? It didn't make sense. And in classic Shiro fashion he had quietly accepted it, knowing it was best. It was obvious to Keith that this quality alone made Shiro the true leader of Voltron.

Shiro would've known how to comfort Lance when he'd been worried about his place on the team. Lance... Keith let out a frustrated sigh. They'd been growing closer since he’d unwittingly been thrust into the leadership role. He'd worried it would start up that stupid rivalry thing between them again but to his surprise Lance had become his support, even when he didn't agree with Keith's impulsivity. Which was often. But Keith had found himself listening and trusting in Lance, his inner conscience even speaking to him in Lance's voice when he knew he needed to ease up and stick with the team.

He’d found solace in Lance and had started naturally gravitating towards him. Being in Lance’s space had given Keith a clearer picture of him and it wasn’t long before he began to really take notice of Lance. His smooth, light brown skin, bright blue eyes, the way his whole face lit up when he smiled, his full bottom lip… _ugh!_ If sleep had been difficult before it was impossible now. With another frustrated sigh Keith pushed himself off the bed and headed out towards the hall.

He wasn’t sure where he was headed, possibly to the training deck, but he jerked to a stop as he passed by the common room and found none other than Lance curled into himself, legs tucked up and arms around his knees, on one of the couches. Keith caught his breath and froze. Had Lance spotted him? He bit his lip between his teeth and was debating turning around when Lance lifted his head and noticed Keith standing there.

“Hey man,” Lance said with a small smile, “couldn’t sleep either?”

“No.”

There was more to say, a million things Keith wanted to say to him, but he left it at that. He stared back at Lance, feeling the urge to sit beside him, tenderly wrap his arm around his waist and ask what was wrong. He could see that Lance was upset. His shoulders were hunched forward, his short brown hair disheveled, and though he’d offered up a smile it didn’t reach his eyes. Keith felt his heart clench at the sight.

“You want to sit down or something?” Lance asked and patted the couch beside him.

Keith rocked slightly between his feet, wanting so badly to go to him but feeling like he shouldn’t. He was supposed to be the leader, the example, not the one hitting on his fellow teammate. He had almost decided to turn and run when Lance’s smile dropped and he looked away, but not before Keith noticed the look of disappointment that crossed his face. Unable to bear the thought of causing Lance further pain Keith quickly jerked into motion and sat next to Lance stiffly. Lance’s head snapped up as his eyes widened for a moment before dropping his gaze back to the floor. In his haste to sit next to Lance, Keith didn’t realize just how close he’d gotten. He could feel the heat coming off of Lance, warming his side and sending tingles into his right hand, now only inches from Lance’s thigh.

“So… what’s keeping you up?” Lance inquired, still keeping his gaze on the floor.

Keith hesitated, he wanted to confide in Lance, wanted Lance to know him but again he struggled to know where the line between friend and leader was. Relationships of any kind were not something Keith had experience with and he found himself constantly wondering what was appropriate.

“It’s a lot of things,” he finally went with. 

Lance snorted without humour, “yeah, you’re telling me.” He sighed, unfolded his legs and leaned back into the couch, tipping his head back and exposing his long, elegant neck. Keith knew he was staring longer than he should and quickly averted his eyes when Lance’s snapped to his.

“Ah,” Lance cleared his throat, “you wanna talk about it?”

“It’s just - I don’t - I…,” Keith broke off, frustrated. He leaned back against the couch as well, propping his head in his hand, body half turned to Lance.

“I guess I’m just… constantly second guessing myself,” he finally admitted. Lance raised his eyebrows in silent question, waiting for Keith to continue.

“About piloting Black and being the leader. I’m over my head and I don’t know what I’m doing. My instincts are off, I shouldn’t be the one making decisions.”

“Hey, no stop,” Lance interrupted, turning to face Keith. Hesitantly he reached out and laid his hand on top of Keith’s, instantly sending the black haired boy's skin alight. “No one's expecting you to be perfect, we know you didn't want this, but you're trying and your instincts aren’t off. You're getting there, trust me.”

And Keith did. In that moment, with Lance’s blue eyes looking at him earnestly and the warmth of his hand radiating up his arm, he believed him. Keith wanted to flip his hand over and entwine their fingers and tell Lance all the things he couldn't say aloud with a tight squeeze. Instead he slowly drew his hand away, using it to brush away the bangs that had fallen over his eyes, in what he hoped looked like a casual gesture. He gave Lance a half smile.

“Thank you. Knowing you have my back, well it means a lot.”

“Yeah? Well someone's gotta look out for you,” Lance joked. And then he gave Keith a smile. Not his usual cocky smirk but a shy, sweet smile that warmed Keith’s cheeks and made him duck his head to hide the spreading blush.

“Um, I should get back,” Keith mumbled, not wanting Lance to see how much that little smile affected him. He stood and turned to go without further comment, pausing briefly when he thought he heard a sad and quiet, “oh.” He looked over his shoulder to see Lance staring ahead, curled in on himself again.

“You should get some rest too,” Keith said, trying to put as much warmth into his tone as he could, not wanting to leave Lance thinking that he didn't care.

“Yeah I'll be going soon. Goodnight Keith,” Lance said without looking in his direction.

“Goodnight Lance,” Keith returned and headed back to his room, feeling like once again he'd let Lance down when he needed him.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Lance cracked his eyes open as the light in his room began to brighten, simulating the sun rise. He rolled onto his back with a groan and rubbed his hand over his face, his head throbbed and he immediately regretted not getting more sleep. But as with most nights lately he just could not get his mind to shut up last night. It had started with his usual feelings of not being good enough for his team but quickly changed into his all consuming feeling of want. Keith had taken over his mind and every night he’d replay every word and every glance the black haired siren had given him that day. There was never much to go over, Keith still mostly kept to himself, but since taking over the lead role Lance had noticed Keith slowly spending more time around him.

At first Lance thought he was imagining it. That maybe his desperate need for Keith to notice him had finally made him snap and he'd gone into full on hallucination mode, reading into things that weren't really there. And yet lately every time Lance got the feeling someone might be watching him he'd look up to find those large, deep violet eyes on him. Normally the intensity of Keith's gaze might have scared him but after so many months of pining Lance felt an electrifying thrill every time. Whenever Keith was near him he'd catch little movements, hints that maybe Keith might even return some of that want. Like the clenching of his hand when they walked together or the hard swallow when his eyes would drift over Lance.

It was these small movements that gave Lance the courage to touch Keith’s hand last night as he'd tried to tell him he was doing a good job. However he'd also noticed the way Keith had slipped his hand away after just a moment. Maybe he really was reading too much into things. Maybe he'd overstepped Keith’s boundaries and today he'd go back to that cold disinterest Lance had suffered through for months. The thought twisted his stomach and he decided to get up and face the music. No point torturing himself when one look from Keith would tell him what he needed to know.

After getting dressed and washing up he made his way to the training deck, certain the man on his mind would be there. He wasn’t disappointed as he rounded the corner and could hear the clashing of metal even before he opened the door. Keith was there in his usual black shirt and tight black pants, sweat drenching his upper body and dripping down his neck. Lance swallowed and remained in the doorway, hoping to stay unseen for just a moment. He loved watching Keith spar. His graceful movements often predicting his opponents every move. He could duck, strike a blow and move out of reach in mere seconds, those defined muscles in his arms and torso straining and flexing while he fought.

His breathing was heavy and laboured as he ended the simulation and turned to the door, pausing when he noticed Lance there. With bated breath Lance stood still, waiting to read Keith’s reaction.

“Oh hey, I didn't hear you there,” he said surprised, and then smiled.

 _He smiled!_ A rare, large and genuine smile that smoothed the usual crease in his brow and caused small crinkles to form in the corner of his eyes. It took Lance’s breath away. He stood there slightly awed until he noticed Keith's eyebrows start to rise and realized how much time had passed.

“Ahhh... hey! I was just going to grab some breakfast and thought I'd see if you wanted to join me,” _and I really need to know if I messed up last night,_ he wanted to add but didn't. He couldn't see anything guarded in Keith eyes and was already beginning to hope that maybe his move last night had paid off.

“Yeah, Hunk already came by and lectured me on the importance of at least three meals a day,” he chuckled, “let's go.”

He strode towards the door and Lance turned quickly to keep pace. Keith’s seemingly good mood gave him the confidence to walk a little closer than necessary causing them to occasionally brush each other's arms. Lance sent a sideways glance Keith's way every time they touched, gauging Keith’s reactions. What he saw was a quick intake of breath and the almost minute twitching of Keith’s hand, all good signs in Lance’s book. He smiled to himself, _today is going to be a good day,_ he thought.

\--------

As it turned out, no, today was not a good day. With everyone unsure of Prince Lotor’s next move it was decided that the team should split up. Allura gave herself, Hunk, Pidge and Lance maintenance duty and sent them off to check on their lions and repair any damages they might have suffered in their last fight. And she sent Keith and Shiro to the training deck, so Shiro could talk with Keith about Black and mentor him in the ways of leadership. As it turned out Red had needed some major TLC and before he knew it Lance had found his day quickly passed by without even another glance at Keith. He’d felt the need to be around Keith strongly in Red’s presence and wondered if maybe he was feeling her feelings as well. Whatever the case it felt like his whole body ached with want by the time he'd made it to his room for the night. Of course getting to sleep anytime soon was completely out of the question so he padded off towards the common room, hoping desperately for one more moment with Keith that day. 

To his utter delight he found Keith sitting on the couch they'd been on last night almost looking as if he'd been waiting for Lance. He looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and flashed that same gorgeous smile from the morning. Lance, embolden, blurted the first thing that came to mind. 

“Oh thank god, I've been dying to see you all day.” He froze. _Holy shit! Did I really just say that?!_

“What?” Keith practically squeaked, dropping his head down and hiding his face with his bangs, but Lance could see the tips of his ears were slightly red. Lance frantically searched for words to explain his outburst that didn't include _I want you so badly._

"Ah, yeah, um… I was hanging out with Red all day, and like… she misses you I think, because… I kept feeling like her sadness?” His voice turned up at the end of his words making it sound more like a question than a statement. 

“Oh,” Keith said sounding confused. Then his shoulders dropped and he looked at Lance with sad eyes. “I miss her too.” 

Lance scrambled to take Keith’s unhappiness away. “But she understands,” he said. “She knows that Black needs you… that we all need you,” he added with sincerity. 

Keith looked up at that and ran his hands through his hair. Lance’s fingers ached to do the same, the fine, ink black strands looked so soft. He watched as Keith let out a stuttering breath. He seemed to be debating something and Lance thought it best to wait for Keith to speak again. 

Finally he spoke, “I was with Shiro all day, talking about leadership and sacrifices required for the team. I just don't understand how Black can shut him out.” He paused. “We need Shiro more than we need me.” 

Lance was stunned. He knew Keith was struggling in his role as team leader, but to actually doubt his importance to the team? This was something Lance thought only he did. He knew how much thinking like this could hurt and he couldn't stand knowing that Keith hurt like that too. 

“Keith, you have to know you’re just as important as any of them. Hunk, Pidge, Allura, even Shiro. You're just as important.” 

"And what about you?” He asked. 

“Huh?” Lance asked shocked. 

“Am I as important as you?” 

"Oh well, that's not hard to beat.” 

“What? Lance,” Keith said, reaching out and grabbing Lance’s wrist tightly. He tugged on it slightly, forcing Lance to look at him. “You are an important part of Voltron too,” he said earnestly. 

Lance took a second to calm the butterflies that rose in his stomach at Keith’s touch and clear gaze. He cleared his throat. “Well, thanks I guess. Even if you're just saying it because-” 

“I'm not just saying it,” Keith interrupted. “I never properly told you when you came to me that day offering to step aside. I told you not to think about it because the idea that we wouldn't need you on the team is ridiculous. How can you not know that?” 

“Ah…” was Lance’s intelligent reply. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you that sooner, I let you down that day but even if Red misses me she knows that you're her paladin now. She knows that you're the one meant to pilot her.” 

Lance didn't know what to say. And Keith looked like he'd run out of words. They stood there for a moment just looking at each other, willing the other to acknowledge their own importance. Slowly Lance realized that Keith was still gripping his wrist hard. He stretched his fingers, itching to clasp them around Keith's. Keith must have noticed the movement because his eyes dropped to their hands and he slowly released his grip, gently brushing his fingers down Lance’s hand before letting it drop in his own lap. The light touch made Lance shiver and he watched as a spark seemed to glint in Keith's eyes. Suddenly the air between them seemed charged. Lance took a shallow breath afraid to move or look away. Keith was staring into his eyes with a new intensity and he could feel it all the way down to his toes. And then just like that Keith looked away and broke the trance. Lance actually staggered back with the sudden movement. 

“It's late, we should head to bed,” Keith said, still looking off to the side. 

“Sure,” Lance replied with a slightly hoarse voice. He cleared his throat and tried again, “walk back with me?” He didn't want to leave Keith yet. 

Keith stood and they walked back towards their rooms together with much the same distance between them as they'd had that morning. This time when their arms brushed Lance felt a pulse of desire shoot up his arm at every contact. He wanted to peek at Keith again for his reaction but couldn't bring himself to do it this time. He wasn't sure he could stop himself from jumping on Keith if he even showed the slightest interest back. 

They got to Lance’s door first and when he turned to say goodbye the words stuck in his throat. Keith was closer than he thought he'd be, his beautiful face just inches from his own. He felt warm breath caress his cheeks and looked into those violet eyes that appeared darker than normal and full of hunger. 

"Thank you,” Keith whispered, “for listening.” 

"Any-any time,” Lance stuttered, pressing back into his door as Keith leaned slowly forward. 

Keith reached his hand out and gently gripped Lance’s forearm. “I should probably go, let you get some rest,” he breathed, eyes dropping to Lance’s lips, body still moving closer. 

Lance swallowed, his mind going a thousand miles a second. “Whatever you say, you're the one in charge,” he managed to get out. 

Keith suddenly stilled and his eyes went wide. A flash of panic crossed his face and he jerked back quickly. Lance stood stunned, wanting to pull him back but too overwhelmed to move. 

“I'm sorry,” Keith mumbled and turned on his heel, rushing in the direction of his room without a look or further explanation. 

Lance couldn't stop the hurt and crushing disappointment from welling up inside. _What just happened?_

 


	3. Chapter 3

They were all gathered on the flight deck of the castle and Allura was explaining how they would be going back to the planet Puig to check on the citizens and consult with their ambassadors. Keith had barely heard a word. He'd been burning holes into the floor with his eyes, refusing to look at anyone, especially Lance, as he tried to keep his shame from showing on his face. He'd come so close to kissing Lance last night. His lust for his fellow paladin had completely taken over and for a few blissful moments he'd allowed himself to put aside his worries of what was right and how a leader should properly act before Lance had mercilessly reminded him. 

_“You're the one in charge,”_ he'd said, and all Keith's self doubt and second guessing had come crashing back into him. He barely remembered apologizing before fleeing to his room, burrowing his face in his pillow and frantically trying to push the heat coursing through his body out. He’d forced himself to remember his earlier conversation with Shiro when he had tried to bring up his feelings.

_“I don't know how to act around the rest of the team anymore. What's even appropriate for a leader?” He’d blurted out._

_“What? I don't understand, why would leading make you act differently towards the others?” Shiro had asked._

_“I'm not good with… feelings. I don't know how to comfort them, or put them at ease. I don't know how to earn their trust.”_

_Shiro had laid a hand on his shoulder. “They trust you Keith, you've fought with them long enough to prove your worth. The whole comforting thing though,” he teased, “maybe you should leave that to someone else.”_

_Keith wanted to smile at that but couldn't. He wanted so badly to make Lance feel wanted, to have him understand how much he meant not only to the team, but to himself._

_He sighed, “I just… want…” he broke off not sure how to finish, not wanting to give away his feelings for Lance._

_“Keith what is this about?”_

_Keith said nothing. Shiro waited for a bit but knew better than to push._

_“I'm here you know, when you want to talk,” Shiro finally said. “I know you have more responsibility now, more pressure. You're in charge out there and they look to you to do what's right. Just be there for them, I know you can do it.”_

_He'd given Shiro a half smile at that but his words had confused him further._ Do what's right? _That was the whole problem, when it came to Lance he just didn't know what was right._

“Keith? You coming?” He looked up to see Lance in front of him and felt the warmth of his hand gently shaking his shoulder. He flinched away from Lance's touch as if burned.

“Yeah,” he said and turned away from Lance to follow the others without another word. He didn't turn around to see Lance still standing there, looking after him with pained eyes.

\--------

“Ugh, he's just so… maddening!” Lance finally exclaimed to no one in particular.

“Ah, who is?” Hunk asked looking around them. Luckily him and Hunk were walking slightly away from the rest of the group, out of earshot from the others.

Lance swore he felt like he was actually dying inside. Keith wouldn't even look at him, had actually jumped away when he touched him. Lance had gotten little sleep the night before, worrying what it would be like between them in the morning. It was even worse than he'd feared. At least even in the beginning of their friendship Keith had seemed to enjoy bickering with Lance, but now? Now he wouldn't even acknowledge Lance’s existence. With a heavy, tearing feeling across his chest Lance glanced over to see Keith, still glaring harshly at everything around him. He began to feel his heartache morph into something more violent.

Hunk noticing where Lance’s eyes were trained snorted. “Yeah man, that dude’s been broodier than normal today. I wonder what's up.”

“Who cares,” Lance spat, “Keith's just being Keith.” Hunk raised on eyebrow at Lance but didn't say a thing.

Turning away he cast his gaze over their surroundings. They were in a village nestled in the mountains. The Piguan people were going about their day though many had stopped and were openly staring at the paladins. Lance noticed a group of girls over to the side chatting and giggling while obviously ogling Hunk and himself. He flashed them a bright, charming smile and their giggles grew louder. _Forget Keith,_ Lance thought, his chest swelling. In that moment it felt so good to be desired that it didn't matter who it was.

“Ladies,” he said, grabbing Hunks arm and pulling him towards the group.

He zeroed in on a tall, pretty girl with large brown eyes and smooth dark skin. She gave him a shy smile and batted her eyelashes, looking innocently up at his face.

“Hi there, are you made up of dark matter? Because you're indescribable.”

Hunk groaned beside him, which he ignored. A dark red bloomed across the girl’s cheeks and she extended her hand towards Lance. 

“I'm Rina,” she said as Lance grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips for a quick kiss.

“Hi, I'm Lance,” he purred, “it's nice to meet you.”

She let out a sweet tinkling laugh and batted her eyelashes again. “I'm glad you came over, we've been staring at you for quite sometime.”

“Really? Well you should've come to say hi, I never turn down the chance to talk with a pretty lady.” 

Lance was in his element. He loved this silly, over the top kind of flirting, normally it was too much for a stranger to handle but Rina seemed to be enjoying it. His ego inflated for the first time in months.

“Is that so? And here I thought I might be special,” she said teasingly, stepping closer to Lance and trailing a finger down his chest. “Perhaps we should find a quiet spot and get to know each other a little better,” she breathed, purposely biting her bottom lip and staring up into his eyes.

“U-um…,” Lance stammered, thrown off by her sudden forwardness. “I should really stick with the team, you know, in case-”

He was thankfully interrupted by a clearing of someone's throat nearby.

“Lance,” Allura said, disappointment heavy in her tone, “I'm afraid we must be going.” 

He hardly took any notice of Allura as he turned towards her because just slightly behind her stood a rigid Keith glaring at Lance, rage shooting like fire from his eyes. Lance swallowed as a deep-seated fear took hold in his stomach. If he hadn't already ruined things between them he sure as hell had now. _Why does he even care what I do?_ Lance thought bitterly. He turned back to Rina.

“I should get going,” he said flatly, his enthusiasm for flirting now gone.

“Just wait,” she said while reaching out to grab his hand. She dropped it to fumble with something on her wrist and then grabbed it again, producing a small charm she'd removed from a chain and dropping it in his hand. “I hope you’ll accept this token as a sign of my affection.”

Lance looked at the charm in his hand. It was a simple design, a hollow circle about the size of a quarter with a square inside it. “I really shouldn't-”

“I insist,” she cut off, “you wouldn't want to disappoint me, would you?” She gave him a teasing smile.

“Lance, we really must leave,” Allura cut in again.

He looked at Rina and knew he should politely decline but not wanting to offend her he figured it was easier just to accept it. With a small smile of his own he mumbled a thanks and turned to leave.

“I look forward to seeing you again soon,” Rina purred and not knowing what else to do he gave her a quick wave and followed the others back towards the castle

In the distance he could just make out a fast moving black haired figure aggressively making his way through the landscape. He gritted his teeth.

\--------

 _What the actual fuck was that?_ Keith was seething. Upon returning to the castle he immediately took off from the group, not sure where to go but knowing he had to get away. Fleeing in a blind rage, he stalked the hallways. He wanted to scream, he wanted to punch something, he wanted to curl into a ball and shut out the world. He was too hot, his skin flushed red and sweat actually beading down his back. 

He soon found himself in his room ripping off his constricting paladin armor piece by piece and flinging them hazardously about the room. He felt the grime of the day and the stench of rejection coating his skin and overtaking his mind. Quickly he made his way to the shower hoping to wash it all away.

Once inside he turned the cold way up and tried to calm himself but the image of Lance and the Piguan girl wouldn’t leave his mind. The way she’d teasingly touched him, had leaned into him with desire heavy in her eyes. And Lance, Lance had loved it! Keith could see it plainly on his face and in his cocky, easy smile. He'd had no reservations, no thought towards anyone but himself, not the team and certainly not Keith. _Why would he think about you? You've been ignoring him all day._

Keith was trying. Really, truly trying to do the right thing by Lance. They had a job to do and a really fucking important one at that. How could he effectively lead the team when all he could think about was Lance? What if they did get together, what then? He'd always be worried about him when they were on a mission, not that he wasn't already now, but still he knew it could get even worse. How could the others trust him when he would so clearly have a favourite? He groaned in slowly fading anger. None of this even mattered. Not if Lance didn't feel the same way. He had thought last night that maybe Lance did, but now? After seeing him shamelessly flirting with that girl, Keith wasn't so sure. _What am I going to do?_

The shower had helped but he couldn’t sit still, too much energy coursing through him, too much chatter in his head. Needing to get away he took off again with no real purpose in mind.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Keith had been prowling the castle for hours, purposely avoiding the common spaces and lost in his thoughts when he began to realize that part of the sick feeling in his stomach might be hunger. He’d long missed dinner but prefered that anyway, thinking he couldn't bear to be around the others right now. But the pain in his stomach was getting worse and feeling resigned he made his way to the kitchen hoping not to catch anyone's attention.

As he walked in he found the space thankfully empty but just as he scrounged up some food he heard someone come in and quickly suck in a breath. Fearing the worst he slowly turned around to see Lance standing there, hands on his hips and a twisted leer on his face.

“Well look who decided to grace us with their presence,” Lance snarked.

Keith felt his blood begin to boil. “What do you care? You do a fine job of entertaining yourself without me.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Lance's body shook with tension.

“It means you do what you like, regardless of how it makes the rest of the team look.”

Lance moved towards Keith at that, angry red splotches already forming on his face. “Excuse me, how I make the team look? And just how is that?”

“We’re supposed to be defenders of the universe Lance, not horny college kids trying to get laid.” Keith retorted bringing himself up to his full height as Lance got in his face.

“Hey fuck you, do you really think glaring and acting better than everyone inspires people to join our cause? At least I’m making an effort!” Lance had raised his voice loud enough that he was almost yelling.

“Oh I think you put enough effort in for all of us.” Keith said in quiet rage. His hands were shaking and he clenched them into tight fists.

“You think I don't know why you're really angry? You think I can’t see the jealousy written all over your face? It's not my fault you're too chicken shit to even-”

Without thinking Keith reached out and grabbed Lance by his jacket with both hands. He violently pushed against Lance, forcing him back towards the wall and slamming him against it. He could feel the heat from Lance’s body, the challenge in his words that Keith was afraid igniting his competitive nature. His eyes bored into Lance’s stunned, scorching blue ones as he pressed his body against him and finally forced their lips together.

He was too angry to be gentle but he pulled back slightly to feel the plump, softness of Lance’s lips against his own. It took Lance a moment to process what was happening but soon Keith felt warm hands grabbing his waist and long fingers digging into his hip bones. And if Keith thought he'd been burning before, now he was truly on fire. He could feel Lance’s hard, smooth body along his entire front, the rise and fall of his chest against the taut muscles of Lance’s torso.

Lance began to move his lips beneath Keith’s causing him to tilt his head to the side, looking for a better fit. He ran his tongue along Lance’s lower lip revelling in the tiny shiver that shook Lance as his lips parted. Keith took advantage and eagerly licked into his mouth, tongues swirling against each other. He gave a growl low in his throat and slid a hand up along the back of Lance’s neck, fingers tangling in short brown hair.

Suddenly they were spinning and the next thing he knew he was the one being pinned against the wall, Lance crowding into him and trailing kisses from his mouth up to his earlobe, biting gently. Lance began teasing and sucking his way along Keith's throat and he was only coherent enough to gasp and grip harder in Lance’s hair. He could feel soft hands trailing up and down his sides and moaned as one slipped under the hem of his shirt and snaked its way to the small of his back. 

“Lance,” Keith gasped as he pushed his pelvis into Lance’s, grinding slowly against him. Lance let a needy, choking sound escape his mouth and moved his hands to grab hard onto Keith's ass, pulling the two boys impossibly closer together. Keith's mind was a haze of desire, his need for Lance throbbing through his veins as he sent a hand up Lance’s shirt and ran it roughly up his rippling abs and over his chest, pausing to caress one of Lance’s nipples.

“Ah... fuck,” Lance breathed, “Keith.” His hands spasmed against Keith then ran lower down his backside, suddenly grabbing behind Keith's thighs, lifting him up against the wall.

Shocked at the movement Keith dug his nails into Lance’s neck and chest causing Lance to hiss and pull back to look at him. His pupils were blown wide, a heavy flush spread thick across his face, his chest heaving as he sucked in air. Missing the contact already Keith quickly drew Lance’s mouth back towards his own and plunged his tongue deep, letting his passion overtake them both. Lance pushed hard into Keith once more and Keith grabbed tightly onto Lance’s broad shoulders and squeezed his slim waist with his thighs, finding purchase against him. Lance began to roll his hips in small circles, grating into him while one of his hands pulled back the neck of Keith's tight shirt so he could lick his tongue along Keith's collarbone. Keith let out a loud wanton moan and bucked his hips into Lance receiving a deep growl in response.

Keith was dimly aware of a new sound entering the room and realized too late that it was the sound of the door sliding open when he suddenly heard Hunk speak.

“Hey Lance, you still in - ah - oh my god!” Hunk proclaimed, dropping a tray he'd been carrying with a loud, echoing crash. “What the? Lance?! Keith?!”

Lance and Keith had frozen in their sinful position, their roaming hands stilled and their faces ripped apart. Lance’s hands released Keith and he slid down the wall, both boys staring at Hunk’s gaping face, neither knowing what to do.

Hunk began backing up slowly, hands up in the air as if moving away from a wild animal. “I'll just, um, be going, and, ah…” His babbling trailed down the hall and cut off as the door slid shut behind Hunk’s fast retreating back.

Slowly Keith turned his wide eyes to Lance and saw the same startled expression mirrored on his face. “Holy shit,” he whispered hoarsely.

Keith watched the flush slowly fade from Lance’s high cheekbones while willing his breathing to slow. He inhaled and let out a shaky breath as panic started to set in. _Oh my god, what have I done?_

Lance’s eyes drifted down to Keith's red, swollen lips and a bright smile stretched across his beautiful features. “Wow,” he breathed, leaning back into Keith to cup his face.

“Lance,” Keith said, grabbing his wrist and bringing it down, “stop, we can't do this.”

Lance furrowed his brow as a flash of pain crossed his face. Keith’s heart ached at the sight.

“It's just, you know, we have a job to do and I'm supposed to be leading everyone, and-”

“You can't be seen fraternizing with the help,” Lance interrupted with an eyebrow wiggle and a smirk on his face.

“Lance,” Keith rolled his eyes, “I'm being serious. I hardly know what I'm doing here, I'm barely keeping it together.”

“Then let me help you. Let me be there.” Lance twisted his wrist so he could twine his fingers with Keith’s, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. Keith could feel his panic quickly fading with the small gesture, his tension starting to ease.

“But what will the others think? What if -”

“Bip, bip, bip,” Lance barked, flapping his hand like a talking mouth, “Don’t worry about the others, I'm pretty sure they're not gonna care.”

“Uh did you see the look on Hunk’s face?”

Lance paused to consider. “Okay they might be a little shocked but don't worry about it, once Hunk recovers he'll be happy for us.” 

Lance brought the hand not holding Keith’s up to his face again and swept his thumb across his cheekbone. His eyes fell again to Keith’s lips as did his thumb, lightly brushing over the seam of his lips. Keith shivered.

“Lance,” Keith whispered, dropping his defences and letting his fear show on his face.

“Hey,” Lance soothed, “you can't tell me you don't want this, not after that. I've…,” he paused. “I've wanted to do that for awhile.”

Something about the earnestness in his voice and the tenderness of his gaze finally broke Keith down. He did want this. This intimacy with Lance, not feeling so alone, the burning passion and gentle caresses, he wanted it all.

“Me too,” he said and leaned in to press a chaste kiss against the side of Lance's mouth.

Lance smiled, wide and beautiful, and moved his lips to catch Keith's fully in a few more kisses, his thumb still lazily sweeping across Keith’s cheek. Just as Keith began to feel that tingling ache for more a loud grumble came from his stomach causing Lance to pull back with a joyful peal of laughter. 

“You hungry?” He asked with a smirk and another suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

Keith couldn't resist. “Mmmmm, maybe,” he said low and dangerous as he leaned in and nipped at Lance’s lower lip.

Lance gasped, “Jesus, Keiiiith!”

And Keith had the satisfaction of seeing that deep red flush appear again on Lance’s face.

 


	5. Chapter 5

_Holy shit, holy shit, holy SHIT!_ That really happened last night. Lance had immediately replayed the events of last night in his mind upon waking in the morning. He kept seeing Keith's eyes, dark and hungry before pulling him in for another deep kiss, hearing Keith's noises and moans, the way he'd said his name all breathy and _shit!_ He was half hard just thinking about it and knew he could get himself off in seconds just by remembering the way Keith had ground against him in a state of frenzy. He'd been wanting Keith for so long but now that it had actually happened he was having a hard time dealing.

God he wanted Keith with him right now. But Keith had been frustratingly restrained and proper once they’d stopped kissing to actually eat some food. Then Keith had walked him to his room and given him no more than a couple open mouthed kisses goodnight. Lance had wanted to protest but they were so new into this thing he worried about appearing too desperate and eager. But _fuck_ did he feel desperate now. No longer able to ignore the hard, aching warmth in his cock he dipped his hand under the waistband of his boxers and touched himself while remembering Keith's pretty pink mouth, swollen from kissing, and imagined what else it could do.

\--------

With no real agenda for the day the paladins were left mostly to their own devices. Coran, Allura, Shiro and Keith were convened on the flight deck to discuss strategy and what their next move should be. It had hurt Lance, Pidge and Hunk to not be included in the discussion but Shiro had thought it best to split up again and assured them no decisions would be made without the input of the entire team. This was simply a sort of think tank type meeting where they would brainstorm possible ways to discover Prince Lotor’s moves.

Keith had gone out of his way to comfort Lance when he saw the look of dejection on his face. It was clear he wasn't comfortable with this plan to split and he'd silently moved to stand next to Lance, gently placing his hand low on his back, out of view of the others, and rubbing his thumb along his spine. He even managed to give Lance a quick peck on the cheek by slipping out to say goodbye as he’d left. 

Pidge and Hunk were already far ahead down the hallway, and out of earshot when Keith leaned towards Lance’s ear and whispered, “I’ll see you soon, ok.” And pulled back to give him such an open, longing look that all Lance could do was nod and turn away.

He couldn't conceal his blush from his friends by the time he'd caught up with them.

“What’s with you?” Pidge asked, eyeing Lance with a suspicious look.

“No, don't ask,” Hunk rushed to say but it was too late.

Not one for prudence or modesty Lance jumped at the chance to brag to his friends. “Oh nothing just, you know...” he paused for full effect, “Keith and I may have intensely made out last night,” he said with a wolfish grin.

Hunk groaned and dropped his head in his hands while Pidge jerked to a stop, eyes going wide. “Don't remind me,” Hunk said.

“What?!” Pidge squeaked, clearly trying to process. Then turning to Hunk, “You already knew?”

“He may have walked in on us,” Lance teased, throwing an arm around Hunk’s shoulders.

“Please stop,” Hunk begged, his face going pink.

“Yes please, I don't need the details,” Pidge admonished, though the corners of their mouth turned up slightly.

“I can't help it if I'm utterly irresistible my friends. It appears no one can resist my charms.” Lance knew he should stop talking but couldn't help himself.

Hunk and Pidge snorted at the same time. “I'd love to see you say that around Keith,” Hunk said. “I think you may have met your match this time Lance. Keith won't hesitate to put you in your place you know.”

“Oh I can think of a few places I'd let Keith put me.”

“Lance stop! I'm happy for you and Keith, really, but for the love of god just stop,” Pidge exclaimed.

“Yeah dude, I get that you're like super happy and stuff but you need to bring it down a bit,” Hunk chided.

“Okay, okay. You guys are no fun. I didn't even get to tell you about how Keith actually whined my name.”

“LANCE!”

Lance snickered and threw his other arm around Pidge, giving his two friends a tight squeeze. “Alright I'm done, I promise.”

Pidge sighed in relief and Hunk finally let himself laugh along with Lance.

\--------

“What?” Lance asked, staring at Keith.

“Do you want to go to the training deck with me?” Keith repeated again, this time a little more uncertainly. He'd finally finished the think tank meeting and had gone in search of Lance immediately, ready to stretch his limbs.

“You know, we don't need fighting as an excuse to roll around together anymore right?” Lance couldn't help teasing Keith and he snickered to himself at Keith's eye roll.

“We can do _that_ later but training is important and you and I never really spar together.”

“That's because I don't usually volunteer to get my ass kicked,” Lance shot.

“Lance give yourself some credit. How are we going to build your confidence if we never practice.”

Lance smiled at Keith's use of the word “we” and moved closer to rest his forearms on either side of Keith's shoulders, clasping his hands behind Keith's neck. “We, huh?”

“Yes we. I want to spar with you Lance,” Keith said catching on to Lance’s game and choosing to fight back by pushing out his lower lip.

“Oh man, Keith! Did you just pout?! Like for real?” Lance was beside himself, swooning hard.

“Is that a yes?” Keith asked hopefully, making his eyes huge and innocent.

“Shit. I’m gonna have to up my game,” Lance said laughing weakly. 

But when Keith gave him a genuine, light in his eyes, warm sunshine straight to your soul smile Lance knew he had no chance.

\--------

“Again?” Keith asked, releasing Lance from a tight hold. Lance had lost count of how many times he’d found himself in this position. Arm twisted behind his back and Keith smirking into his ear.

The sparring had actually started out quite well. Lance was holding his own by practicing some techniques that Keith had shown him. That was until he got a little tired of Keith going easy on him. He may have purposefully pissed Keith off when he swept his feet out from under him, knocking the wind out of him when his back hit the floor. Or maybe it was when he aimed a blow just a tad too low below the belt but Keith got the hint and started sparring for real. Lance was soon overpowered and honestly a little turned on by this point. Watching the graceful way Keith moved his body, all hard, compact muscle as he came at Lance with an intensely focused gaze. Keith was a master of this world and it filled Lance with pride to know that he'd recently had this deadly black haired warrior pinned against a wall and moaning.

“I could do this all day hot stuff,” Lance taunted, sending a quick wink in Keith’s direction.

“Is that so?” Keith asked with a raised eyebrow. 

He then began stalking towards Lance with a devilish grin on his face. Lance felt his pulse quicken at the sight and he tensed when he saw Keith about to spring. It was lightning fast and Lance barely got his arm up in time to block a well aimed blow to his chest. Keith twisted his body and ducked low, whipping his leg at Lance’s feet but he jumped and spun to face him, striking out at Keith's stomach with his foot. This turned out to be a mistake as Keith caught his foot and twisted hard, sending Lance crashing to the ground. Lance sprung up in a crouch quickly but not before Keith jumped on his back, wrapping his arm around Lance’s neck.

Lance was just about to drive his elbow into Keith's stomach when he felt a quick kiss on his cheek. Momentarily stunned he didn't have time to react as Keith dropped his hand and squeezed Lance’s ass hard. Lance let out a surprised yelp then gritted his teeth continuing his earlier thought by elbowing Keith in the ribs to get him off his back. 

Keith dropped to the ground and Lance whirled in time to see Keith spin a roundhouse kick in his direction. Lance stumbled back and hit the wall behind him. Before he knew it Keith had grabbed both his wrists and pinned them to the wall above his head. Then Keith was on him, lips sucking on his neck and hips pushed hard into his own.

“Holy shit,” Lance wheezed, breathless from more than just fighting. “Stop toying with me.”

“Would you rather I just beat you up?” Keith asked surprised, pulling back to look at Lance.

“Either that or we take this someplace else,” Lance suggested, wiggling his hips to make his intentions clear.

“Um, actually there was something else I wanted to do in here with you,” Keith said a little shyly.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, ah, I was hoping that you might give me some tips on how to shoot.” Keith bit his lip and dropped his eyes.

“What? For real?” Lance was so shocked he really couldn’t find any other words.

“Well yeah, you’re an amazing sharpshooter and I’ve been dying to get a lesson from you,”

Lance’s jaw dropped, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Keith was the amazing one, an unreal pilot and absolutely lethal with a sword. Hunk was strong and powerful, Pidge was by far the smartest person he’d ever known, Allura was brave and focused and becoming a really skilled fighter and Shiro was pretty much the whole package, but Lance? Yeah he could shoot pretty well but he wouldn’t say amazing. Not when compared to the skills of the rest of the team.

“Lance?” He looked up to see Keith’s eyes wide and questioning.

“The great Keith Kogane asking for help huh?” As usual he hid his self doubt with a smirk and a fake confidence to his tone.

Normally Keith would have taken the bait and bit back with a nasty comment of his own but he knew Lance was covering for his insecurities. He really did want some tips from Lance on shooting but he also wanted Lance to see how talented he truly was, so he replied with a shrug and a simple, “Yes, I am.”

“Well you’re in for a treat then, prepare to be amazed guapo.”

As Lance pushed off from the wall to get his bayard he was sure he heard Keith say quietly, “I already am.” His heart stuttered.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut warning

He'd been standing outside of Lance’s door for a few minutes now, trying to work up the courage to knock. At dinner they’d sat beside each other but kept their distance. About halfway through Lance, more fidgety than usual, took a moment when no one was looking and had quietly told him that if he didn't come to his room after everyone went to bed Lance would have no choice but to pounce on him right there. And though Hunk already knew, and he suspected Pidge might as well, Keith was not ready for large public displays of affection. In fact in this moment he wasn't sure he was ready for a private display either.

His body was physically yearning for Lance, especially after spending the afternoon together, but he worried about getting attached so quickly. Good things didn't often stick around for Keith, but if he was being honest with himself he knew he was already pretty damn attached to Lance at this point. He swallowed and knocked lightly, finally deciding that any amount of time spent alone with Lance was better than none at all.

Lance quickly opened the door and reached for Keith’s hand tugging him inside. He threw his arms around Keith’s neck and brought him in for a slow, sweet kiss as soon as the door slid closed. Lance's soft lips moved leisurely against Keith’s, gently caressing and instantly warming his insides.

“Finally,” Lance breathed against his mouth and Keith smiled, resting his hands on Lance’s hips and pulling him a bit closer, mouths never leaving each other.

Lance moved a hand up into his hair and sighed softly, curling his fingers and tugging gently. That small move ignited a spark of desire so Keith moved his lips down to Lance’s jaw, kissing lightly on the sensitive skin. He felt a tremor run through Lance who began to speak in a low, sultry voice.

“I've wanted you all day… watching you spar,” he gasped as Keith began to suck a small mark into his neck, “standing behind you as I helped you aim.”

Keith tightened his hands at that, suddenly remembering the way Lance had pressed behind him, a hand on his shoulder and hot breath in his ear as he’d helped Keith take aim at a target. With Lance's help he'd managed to shoot a target 50 meters away, but all he'd really been able to think of was that lean body so close. Keith pulled Lance closer wrapping on arm around his waist and the other reaching across his back. Lance gasped again.

“Sitting so close to you at dinner… but not being able to touch you.” 

Keith was leaving small marks along Lance’s neck making his way up to his earlobe where he latched on with his lips. He whispered into Lance’s ear, “you can touch me now.”

Lance let out a moan and dropped his hands to the edge of Keith’s shirt sliding them under and smoothly over his pale back. The sensation made him tremble and he brought his lips back to Lance’s, this time hungrily lapping their tongues against each other. He growled low in his throat as Lance lightly ran his nails down his back and took Lance's lower lip between his teeth, biting softly.

“Keith,” Lance groaned.

The heat of Lance’s palms splayed across his back and his name on Lance’s lips was driving him crazy, he could feel the hidden strength in those long, slim fingers. He wanted to know exactly what those fingers were capable of. _Fuck,_ he needed to know.

Lance shivered into Keith and pulled back, chest heaving between them. This close he could see the red flush across his face, the light dusting of freckles on his nose and the impossibly long eyelashes perfectly framing his deep, ocean blue eyes, which were staring lustfully back at him. In a swift motion Lance had Keith’s shirt off and was pushing him back towards the bed, all the while keeping their eyes locked together. Keith sat on the bed and Lance wasted no time crawling into his lap, thighs straddling Keith as he slowly rolled his hips over Keith’s growing hardness.

“Oh god… Lance,” Keith choked, sending his hands to Lance’s hips and running them up his body. 

Lance swooped in for more hungry kisses, smashing their lips together, tongues and teeth clashing. Keith was dizzy with want, barely remembering to breathe. He tugged at the hem of Lance’s shirt and ripped it off, reveling in the feel of their naked torsos pressed together.

Lance was hot as he leaned in to taste the sweet cinnamon skin before him. He kissed, nipped and ran his tongue along Lance’s chest causing Lance to gasp and moan, flinging his head back. Keith pulled harshly in Lance’s hair and ran his tongue up the length of Lance’s throat.

“F-fuck, ahhh… Keith,” Lance whined desperately and ground his hard erection into Keith's lap. Keith let out a loud whine of his own.

Lance's hands were all over his back, his shoulders, in his hair. He scratched his nails along Keith's scalp causing Keith to gasp and push his hips into Lance again. Needing more friction, he started rhythmically moving against Lance, unable to stop himself and suddenly Lance was panting mess above him. _God, he’s so fucking hot!_

“M-more… I need more” Lance managed to get out. Keith was more than eager to please.

He gripped onto Lance's ass and stood up quickly, turning to drop him in the centre of the bed. The sight of Lance in front of him, splayed on the bed, his lean, hard body stretched out and those broad shoulders tapering into a slim waist, had him pausing to suck in a breath. His bare chest was stunning, a thin sheet of sweat causing it to glisten. It made Keith's mouth water. 

Lance looked at him with those intense blue, wanting eyes and whimpered, “Keith, please.”

He lowered himself slowly on top of Lance, settling his lower body between his legs and reached out to cup Lance’s face with his hand. “You look so hot laid out like this.”

Lance snaked a hand into Keith’s hair and pulled him in for a kiss, slower than the others but deeper. Keith’s cock throbbed painfully and he rolled his hips into Lance, yearning for some friction. He palmed the bulge in Lance’s jeans causing him to jerk into Keith's hand and cry out.

 _Fuck_. A thrill ran through Keith’s entire body at the sound. Needing to hear it again he began moving down, trailing sloppy open mouthed kisses along Lance’s chest, pausing to lave his tongue over a small nipple that peaked in his mouth as he sucked at it. 

“Nnnahhh… Keith,” Lance moaned, gripping hard in his hair.

He smirked and moved his hands to Lance’s fly. In an instant Lance’s hands were there tugging off his jeans and throwing them aside. Keith moved his face down between Lance’s spread thighs, kissing and nipping gently at the soft brown skin. He raised his eyes to meet Lance’s who was watching him entranced. Lance whimpered at the pause and pushed up towards Keith’s face.

Laying his hands on Lance's hips to still them he asked, “how much do you want this Lance?”

“Shit… so bad, god… you look so good there. So good Keith.”

Keith mouthed at his cock, already leaking under his boxers, still watching Lance’s face.

“F-fuck” Lance whispered, biting his lip hard, his eyes silently pleading.

The sight was too much for Keith, he couldn't deny this beautiful man any longer. He dipped his fingers below the waistband of Lance’s boxers and pulled them down, breath catching as Lance’s hard, swollen cock popped up between them. Keith growled at the sight and bent his head to lick along the length.

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh…” Lance had the heels of his hands pressed against his eyes as if the sight of Keith about to suck his dick was too much. A wave of hungry desire ran through Keith and in that moment he wanted nothing but to see Lance completely undone.

“Look at me Lance,” he demanded and grabbed the base of his cock as he parted his lips over the head. 

Lance’s eyes flew open and he cried out Keith’s name, digging his hands into the bed sheets on either side of him. Encouraged Keith lowered his mouth further down, pressing his tongue against Lance, his cock hot and heavy in his mouth. Lance was panting, mumbling curse words and praise, telling Keith how hot he looked, how much he wanted him. Keith began bobbing his head and working the base with his hand, each time sinking a little lower until his lips hit soft, curling hair. Lance arched his back beautifully beneath him and gave a strangled cry.

He pulled back and kissed down the length of Lance, massaging his balls with a hand. Lance moaned and writhed under him, begging Keith not to stop. Keith replaced his mouth with his hand and gripped onto Lance, stroking up his slick cock as he leaned down to suck at a ball and then licked his tongue slightly lower.

Lance’s whole body shook as he cried out, “Oh fuck!”

Delirious with want Keith licked again, flattening his tongue against Lance’s entrance then running the tip around his rim. Lance squirmed and twisted his body, Keith looked up to see Lance reaching into the drawer of his bedside table and pulling out a bottle. He reached for Keith’s hand and quickly coated his fingers in lube.

Lance locked his eyes with Keith and begged, “Please…fuck Keith, please.”

Keith hummed against Lance’s hole, poking his tongue in and almost came at the loud, shameless noise Lance made. He pressed a finger against Lance moving his mouth back up to his cock. Slowly he pushed his finger in as Lance hissed and moaned. Lance was tight and hot around his finger and it made Keith's dick throb and his mind go blank.

“Ah…a-ah,” Lance stammered as he pushed down trying to fuck himself on Keith’s finger. Keith growled and began to slowly pull and push his finger into Lance, giving him time to adjust. He began timing the slide of his finger with the slide of his mouth up and down Lance's cock, twirling his tongue lazily around his length. 

Lance was beside himself, rambling praises and rolling his hips, urging Keith on with his hands. And it was so much, almost too much. Keith was full of longing and he desperately needed relief. He pulled off of Lance’s dick with a pop and looked at him with heavy lidded eyes.

“Lance, I-I need you… can I -”

“Yes!” Lance practically screamed, “yes, fuck me!”

Oh God. Keith quickly pushed in another finger and began to move them in earnest, pushing and twisting inside. Lance yelled and pulled on Keith’s shoulders trying to tug him up but Keith continued sliding his fingers inside, making room.

“Lance you're so perfect, so fucking perfect,” he cooed, wanting Lance to know how much he craved him.

“Keith please put it in now!”

“Fuck Lance,” he groaned, his words making it impossible to wait any longer. 

He rose up to hover over Lance, brushing their cocks together. Lance had the lube again and reached down to rub at Keith. He gasped and shuddered at the touch, instantly fucking Lance’s hand. But too soon Lance was guiding him down, lining him up. Keith froze suddenly, the weight of what they were about to do making itself felt.

“Lance,” he breathed, “are you sure?”

Lance looked into his eyes and he could see his own desperate hunger looking back at him. “Yes, I need you too.”

Slowly, so slowly he pushed in. The tight heat forcing Keith to suck in a breath then a loud, slow moan pulled out of him. He'd wanted Lance like this for _so long_ , usually touching himself while fantasizing about this very moment.

Lance lifted his lower back off the bed and Keith moved a hand to the small of his back, holding him close.

“I've got you,” he whispered, tenderly kissing Lance’s neck as he continued his slow push. Lance was gasping for air, digging his nails into Keith’s shoulder, his head thrown back against the pillows and eyes squeezed shut. “You feel so good Lance,” he purred.

Lance whined and gripped tighter, moving his face to kiss Keith’s temple. “Keep going... don't - don't stop,” he urged.

Keith pushed until he was all the way in, Lance’s ass pressed against his thighs, and then he began to pull out just as slow feeling every delicious inch of pressure. Lance moaned and bucked his hips up, the slow pace driving him mad. A hand gripped his ass urging him forward and he thrust into Lance a little bit quicker.

Keith could barely focus on his movements. The sensation of being inside Lance and feeling his body pushed hard against him, his hands running through his hair, down his back, over his ass, was taking him over. His breath was quick and sounds of absolute bliss were falling from his mouth. He was partially aware of Lance’s own noises beginning to sound more needy, more frantic.

“Keith…. ah… faster.”

Spurred on Keith grabbed the back of Lance’s thigh and brought it up around his waist, encouraging him to do the same with the other leg. As he did the angle changed and Keith pushed in hard and deep. 

Lance cried loudly, “fuck! Oh fuck, right there…ah”

Keith picked up the pace driving fast into him. Lance was moaning louder and louder, half coherent words tumbling out. Keith leaned down and bit hard into Lance’s neck making him sob.

“Shit… Lance, I'm close... so close.” He could feel the warmth coiling in his groin.

“Come then,” Lance urged. “Come inside me.”

“Fuck,” he gritted his teeth and ground down, wrapping a hand around Lance’s dick and twisting. “You too, come with me.”

He could feel them getting closer together, the pressure inside him building, felt it through his entire body, his mind consumed with one goal. Then Lance was yelling out his name and spasming around him, hot white liquid squirting into his hand. Keith gave a final push and felt the pressure blow him apart, his conscious thought leaving as he surrendered to the euphoria overtaking him. His arms gave out and he collapsed on top of Lance, the two boys shuddering into each other.

Eventually he was aware of hands combing gently through his hair and could feel the loud beating of Lance’s heart start to slow. 

Lance took a stuttering breath. “Oh my god Keith.”

Keith couldn't think of a response so he braced himself up on his elbows to look at Lance. He had never seen anything so gratifying as the blissed and awed way Lance was looking at him. His hair was a mess, was lips were pink and puffy and he stared into Keith’s eyes like he was the only thing that mattered. He bent his head to kiss those swollen lips.

“Lance,” he sighed against those lips, so tender.

They stayed that way for minutes, lazily kissing and gently running their hands all over each other. Reluctantly Keith moved to get some tissues so he could clean them up. When he went to throw them away Lance grabbed his arm.

“Wait!” He bit his lip and looked away shyly. “Can-can you stay?” Another pause, “I mean stay the night, here with me?”

Keith leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Yeah, yeah I can.”

Lance’s cheeks turned pink and he released him. When Keith returned he laid on his side to face Lance and cupped his face with a hand. Exhaustion was starting to seep in and it looked like Lance was feeling the same, his eyelids drooping. Lance pulled the covers over them both and reached out to pull Keith closer, wrapping an arm around him and tangling their legs together.

“Just so you know cuddling is a requirement in my bed,” he informed Keith, sending him a sleepy smile. “Since I'm taller it's only logical I be the big spoon, so turn.” He patted Keith's butt.

Keith huffed into his chest and raised his head, “you're lucky you've worn me out,” he teased.

“Pfft, look who’s talking. I'm not complaining though.”

“Mmmm, me neither.” He gave Lance one last kiss then turned around to press back into him.

Lance tightened an arm around his waist and pulled him close. Keith couldn't remember if he'd ever been held like this before and felt his heart begin to expand. Lance trailed a few kisses along his shoulder before dropping his head to the pillow and nuzzling into Keith’s hair. They laid there, breathing together quietly and Keith drifted to sleep with the feel of Lance’s slow steady heart beat at his back.

 


	7. Chapter 7

The simulated sun rise began to brighten and Lance was warmer and happier than he'd been since before he’d left earth. He had woken a few minutes earlier to a sleeping Keith snuggled into his shoulder with an arm and leg thrown across his body. In the soft light Lance took a few moments to admire him. His features were smoothed and his mouth relaxed hanging open slightly, he seemed so different than the Keith he knew. His dark hair was tousled with thick bangs falling across his eyes and Lance couldn't stop himself from reaching out to brush them aside.

He thought about yesterday, not just the mind blowing sex but all the little things that Keith had done to support him. The way he'd said goodbye before his meeting, how he'd tried to raise Lance’s confidence by sparring and shooting, letting him flirt with him at dinner. It was honestly more than Lance ever expected from Keith. He'd always imagined Keith as this cool, aloof dude who didn't need anyone but as they'd grown closer he was starting to see him as just another boy unsure of his place in this strange space world they found themselves in. They both needed each other and if Keith would let him, he'd stay by his side.

He was jerked out of his thoughts when he felt Keith begin to stir beside him. He looked down to see one purple eye squinting at him while Keith rubbed at his other. He tried to stifle a yawn and Lance could only smile to himself at the sight of this adorably sleepy Keith.

“Hi,” he said quietly, rolling to the side to face him.

“Hi,” Keith whispered back then tentatively reached out to lay his hand above Lance’s heart.

Lance threw an arm around Keith and squeezed up against him, kissing him lightly on the forehead. Keith hummed and lifted his face to kiss the underside of Lance’s jaw then nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

Lance chuckled, “I think I like morning Keith.”

Keith hummed again in response, nuzzling a little closer.

“Although sexy time Keith is fun too.”

Keith snorted and pulled back. “Please don't ever say sexy time Keith again,” he said and moved to get up.

Lance latched onto him quickly. “Okay I won't, sorry baby, come back.”

“No baby either,” Keith ordered still trying to pull away.

“Okay, okay, I'll stop,” Lance whined squeezing tighter. Keith sighed and gave in for a moment, leaning back into him.

“Lance?”

“Mmhmmm,” he hummed. So content to just lie there with Keith in his arms.

“I-I-uh,” Keith stammered, then bit his lip, “ah… nothing…,” he finished lamely.

But Lance smiled and squeezed even tighter, pretty sure he knew what Keith was trying to get out. “I'm happy too,” Lance said for him.

Keith laughed a little at that and brought a hand up to rub gently along Lance’s back. Lance hummed again and kissed the top of Keith’s head, he was just starting to wonder if he should try a little morning action when Allura’s voice over the comm system cut into their cuddling.

“Paladins you're needed on the flight deck.” Her tone was curt and demanding.

Lance groaned, already not liking the sound of it.

\--------

Once they were all assembled it was clear Allura was not very happy and with the way she kept throwing eyes at Lance he was starting to get a little nervous. Did she know about Keith and him? Would she really be upset about that? If they cared about each other she'd want them to be happy… right?

“Thank you all for coming,” she began, taking a breath and holding herself just as regal as ever. “I’ve just received news from a counsellor of Puig. It would appear that we must return there this evening.” Her eyes settled on Lance. “Apparently we are to celebrate the, ah, ‘breeding arrangement’ that’s begun between the lady Rina and Lance.”

Everyone was silent. And Lance was… Lance was…

“W-what?” It was all he could manage to say.

He turned to look at his team. Blank faces and wide eyes stared back at him. No one moved or said a thing but Lance could feel the confusion settling in the room, specifically in the dark, barely breathing body beside him. He looked at Keith’s face and would have laughed if not for the fact that he was 90% sure the same expression was on his own. Keith’s mouth hung open, his eyes wide and eyebrows raised high.

“Lance would you care to explain?” It was Allura still sounding pissed.

He turned his eyes from Keith. “Explain? I-um-what does… _that_ even mean? Breeding arrangement?”

“Oh it’s actually quite common in societies scattered throughout the galaxy,” Coran piped in, “romantic attachment is not necessary, nor something as important as it seems to be with humans. A breeding or procreation arrangement is usually made between willing participants to ensure the survival of the species. Though it’s quite strange that a Piguan would enter into such an agreement with a human, but I can see why _you_ might have something to gain from it, eh, ” and with that he gave Lance a quick wink as he tugged the end of his mustache.

Lance floundered, the red creeping swiftly to his face. “N-no, I didn’t…” he broke off not even sure how to continue. He was pacing now, frantically searching the floor as if it might have some sort of answer.

“Dude? Are you okay?” It was Hunk, moving towards him with a worried expression on his face.

“Hunk!” Lance shouted suddenly taking him in. “Hunk you were there, tell them this didn’t happen.”

Hunk looked at him with pitying eyes. “I dunno, I mean you two were really, um, flirting. There was definitely, ah, suggestions, being thrown around.”

“What? No man I-I always flirt. It’s nothing, it never goes anywhere.” He’s really started working himself up now. Flailing his arms and everything while pacing on the spot.

“Lance are you saying that you don't want to be a part of this arrangement?” Shiro asked, now stepping forward to place a calming hand on his shoulder.

“Yes that's exactly it! I never made any arrangements, there was no talk of br-breeding,” he stuttered on the last word, it sounded so foreign like that.

“According to this, one enters an agreement like this when you accept a token from the, ah, willing person,” Pidge piped in, looking up from their holoscreen and adjusting their glasses. “Did this girl give you anything?”

Somehow Lance’s eyes grew even wider. “Yeah she gave me this metal coin thing!” He exclaimed. “She said it was a token of her affection.”

“Well it certainly was, wasn't it,” Allura chimed in. “Lance while I appreciate your attempt to connect with the alien races we encounter, as a paladin of Voltron your responsibilities are much greater. I can not condone this behaviour, nor can I now turn it aside without causing friction between us and the Piguans.”

“What? But I can't do this,” he all but screeched.

“Well it's a delicate situation, many societies view this sort of thing as a high honour. To refuse it can be most insulting,” Allura countered.

“But I can't…” he threw his eyes to Hunk and Pidge looking for help, “I’m with Keith!” Lance blurted before realizing that not everyone in the room knew this.

He could see the disbelieving looks on Shiro, Allura and Coran’s faces but he searched for Keith, looking for confirmation that this entire situation was completely insane.

But as he looked around he began to realize that he couldn’t find him anywhere. _When had he walked out? Why would he leave?_ Suddenly with a sinking feeling Lance had a pretty good idea. The only time he'd seen Keith leave a meeting like this was when the fiery red paladin was really pissed off.

_Well shit._

He had to fix this. “Can't we just tell them there's been a mistake? I didn't know what that token meant.” He turned pleading eyes to Allura.

“Well…” Allura blinked a few times, still in a bit of shock. Finally seeming to gather herself she continued, “we can try and explain the situation to them, perhaps when they learn of your relationship with Keith the arrangement can be broken.”

The words out of her mouth sounded encouraging but her face said otherwise, her lips pressed in a thin line.

“But…” Lance supplied.

“But it may not be easy. As I said this is usually quite the honour, we will need to be delicate in how we approach this.”

Lance blew out a breath, not realizing he'd been holding it while he waited for Allura’s answer. He was getting more anxious about Keith, he needed to find him and make sure he understood that Lance didn't want this.

“Great, yeah delicate. I can do delicate.”

Five pairs of eyes shot him a disbelieving look.

“Hey I can! So we’ll go down there, explain the situation and then be back on our merry way, right?” He tried to phrase that last part like a statement but in the end couldn't fake that confidence.

“We’ll do our best Lance,” Shiro replied in a grim tone.

“Great. So I'll just go, ah, get ready. And maybe check on Keith.” Lance was inching towards the door.

Pidge gave a snort. “Yeah, good luck with that.”

He threw her a dirty look as he left, dreading to see what sort of state Keith was in.

\--------

The training room was a flurry of blurring limbs and gladiator bits when he made it there. He’d never seen Keith take on this many gladiators at once and it was momentarily dazzling. He swung his sword with speed and killer accuracy but even with all his skill he was greatly outnumbered. Six gladiators descended on him and though he made quick work of three the others were getting their shots in too. It was just as Keith took a hard blow to his gut and doubled over gasping for breath that Lance turned off the simulation.

 _This guy is really too much sometimes,_ Lance thought with a fond exasperation.

“Most people don’t enjoy getting beat up for fun you know,” Lance couldn’t help but tease, hoping that their typical banter might ease Keith’s mood.

Keith looked up and glared angry fire at Lance. _Okay then, maybe not._ Lance put his hands up in a show of surrender.

“Why are you here Lance? Don’t you have other things to look forward to?” It would have come out scathing if Keith wasn’t still struggling to breathe. But the intent was there and Lance felt it like a stab to his heart.

“I didn’t know what she meant - I didn’t mean to -”

Keith scoffed.

“How was I supposed to know? She-”

“You were definitely into it at the time, I was there Lance, I saw it.” Keith cut him off bitterly. He could see the hurt on his face for just a moment before it morphed back to a scowl. 

The contrast from the soft, tender boy he’d held close this morning to the rage filled, bitter one now standing in front of him almost made Lance dizzy. This was the Keith he used to but now that he’d seen that other side he ached for it again, he wanted to see that smile, see the pain in his eyes disappear. He took a deep breath, willing his own irritation down.

“Keith,” he said softly, “I’m sorry okay, I messed up.” He dropped his eyes, trailing his gaze over the training room floor.

Keith said nothing but he felt a change in the air, like maybe some of the heat and rage surrounding Keith was dying down. He risked a glance up to see Keith staring off into space with a look Lance couldn’t place. He seemed to be battling something inside of himself. Lance took his momentary distraction as his way in. He stepped closer to Keith, hesitantly reaching out a hand.

“Keith, I don’t want anything to do with this arrangement. I only want to be with you.” He gently brushed the tips of his fingers against Keith’s own.

Keith snapped out of his turmoil at that and brought sharp eyes to Lance’s as if searching for the truth. Lance stepped forward again, grabbing Keith’s hand and squeezing lightly.

“Allura’s going to help, we’re going to tell Rina about us, tell her that I can’t be a part of this.”

He moved closer still, close enough to wrap his arms around Keith like he so desperately wanted to but didn’t dare until Keith gave him the okay. Keith was shaking ever so slightly, moving with breaths that Lance could tell he was trying to calm. 

Keith slowly closed his eyes and touched his forehead to Lance’s with a sigh. “I’m sorry,” he breathed and with that Lance finally brought his arms around Keith’s middle and pulled him in.

“I’m sorry too,” Lance said, leaning in to place a soft kiss on Keith’s cheek. “I can be an idiot sometimes.”

“I know.”

“Hey, excuse m-” Lance was cut off by a firm kiss. He thought about pulling back to continue his complaints but Keith opened his mouth under Lance’s inviting him in and who was he to turn down such an offer?

He brushed his tongue gently against Keith’s and felt the heat begin to rise again but this time in a good way. Keith snaked his hands up into Lance’s hair and tugged a little more forcefully than he probably meant to but it had Lance gripping onto Keith tighter. He nipped lightly on Keith’s lips and was rewarded with a low moan. They began moving their lips and tongues against each other with more fervor until Keith suddenly broke away leaving both boys gasping for breath.

Lance stared into those dark violet eyes and marvelled at the intensity of them. Keith’s passion was one of the first things Lance had found drawing him towards Keith. Even when it was an angry passion that ignited Lance’s competitive nature he couldn’t deny it was an incredible turn on. Especially when Keith was throwing him looks like _that_. He rubbed his hands up Keith’s spine and along his neck, burying his hands in the soft dark hair. Keith brought a hand to Lance’s face to rub his thumb along his lower lip. Both boys shivered.

“So…” Lance spoke in a hoarse voice, having to clear his throat to continue. “Forgiven?”

Keith snorted. “We’ll see.”

Lance raised an eyebrow in silent question.

“What if it’s not enough? What if they demand you go through with it?” Keith openly let his worry show on his face.

“I think it’ll be okay. When they see us together they’ll know it won’t work.”

Keith laughed at that, a full vibrant laugh, eyes full of mirth. Lance dropped his mouth open not sure where this sudden glee came from and despite the warmth spreading in his heart at the sound of Keith’s laugh he couldn’t help but feel like he was the butt of some joke.

“Are you saying _it_ won't work with her?” Keith asked, grin spread wide across his beautiful face.

“Huh?” Lance asked completely puzzled.

“You know, like you won't be able to get _it_ up? _It_ won't work” Keith clearly thought this joke was hilarious by the uncontrollable giggling that was now shaking his entire body.

Lance groaned. “Oh my god Keith that's terrible. Are you actually trying to pun? Just… no.” But he can't help giggling to himself at the sight of a once rage fuelled Keith now laughing hysterically at a really, really horrible joke. “Why do I like you?”

That seemed to sober Keith up a bit but he was still smothering laughs as he pressed his forehead against Lance’s. “I'm not really sure,” he replied but the humour was still in his eyes.

“Hmmm… well once we get this all sorted out with the Piguans maybe you can remind me?” Lance smirked and leaned in to press a quick kiss against Keith's lips.

“Sure,” Keith simpered and deepened the kiss, deciding that they may as well pass the time somehow and making out was far more satisfying than fighting.

 


	8. Chapter 8

This was a big deal. Like a really huge freaking deal. When they arrived on Puig they were greeted by all of the counsellors dressed in their finest clothes. There were even servants waiting close by for the paladins to descend from the castle and take their helmets.

“Great heroes of Voltron, welcome back! And so soon too,” said a regal looking counsellor dressed in rich red clothing. A sort of tunic tied at the waist with a braided gold belt, very similar to what the romans wore back on Earth all those years ago. “I was delighted to hear of the arrangement between my dear niece, Lady Rina, and one of your own. Where is the brave warrior?”

Lance ducked behind Keith in his panic. They had decided not to openly show affection towards each other until they could gauge how serious of a situation they were in. Allura was worried that the slightest misstep could break their alliance and deeply offend the Piguan people. That didn't stop Lance from wanting to remain close to Keith however. He had just determined to stay by his side when Pidge pulled Keith to the side revealing Lance cowering behind.

“Ah there you are,” said the counsellor gesturing towards Lance. “Come with me, we have prepared a room where you can prepare for the celebration. My niece is quite eager to see you again.” He walked briskly towards Lance and threw an arm around his shoulder pulling him along. “I am counsellor Turiansorn but you can call me Turis.”

Lance looked desperately around at his team, specifically looking to Keith for help. Keith was staring back at him with panic, his arm half raised as if to pull him back. Pidge tugged on Keith's other arm bringing him down to their level so they could whisper in his ear. Lance saw Keith close his eyes at their words, then he brought his pained gaze to Lance, half shrugging in apology. Lance made a small whimpering noise.

The counsellor looked in the direction of Lance’s stare, eyebrows furrowed for a moment in confusion. “Don’t worry, “ he assured Lance. “Your fellow paladins will be well taken care of, we have rooms for them but none as prestigious as yours. You do my family a great honour by this you know.”

Lance swallowed hard. “Um, yeah - well...” he trailed off. It was agreed that Allura would be the one to speak with the counsellors, clearly having more experience in the matter of delicate diplomatic situations. Lance looked over his shoulder at her now. She was being lead away by a servant in the opposite direction, one of the other counsellors chatting with her. He hoped she’d say something soon so he could get out of this awkward situation. Turis had continued talking like he hadn’t even noticed Lance’s blubbering, beginning to tell him all about the celebration.

“It will be a great feast where you can finally connect with Rina once more and begin to know one another. Though I know the arrangement is strictly business at this time I do so hope you two may move towards something more permanent. It would be a mighty union for our people.”

Turis didn’t seem to be waiting for a response from Lance so he said nothing, hoping that his silence might be taken for nerves instead of unwillingness. To be fair he really was nervous as fuck in that moment, though not in the way the counsellor probably thought.

When they arrived in front of a large door Turis removed his arm from Lance’s shoulders turning to face him. “Here we are, I hope you will find the room to your liking. I must go and prepare for the feast myself but I look forward to speaking with you more this night.” He laid a hand on Lance’s shoulder in a fond, familiar way, as if they were already family.

Lance swallowed. “Ah, okay yeah… that would be nice?” He couldn’t keep his voice from rising into a mild panic.

Turis chuckled at that. “There’s no need to be worried my boy,” he smiled. “As long as you take care of my Rina you and I will have no problems.” With that he squeezed Lance’s shoulder and walked back the way they’d come.

Lance stood blinking after him as the servant who followed them gently guided him into the room. They laid Lance’s helmet on a bench at the foot of his bed and then ducked out of the room, leaving him by himself. His mind was buzzing non stop and he barely took in the room as he threw himself down on the bed, willing his heart rate to slow. This arrangement was clearly a much bigger deal than any of them had guessed and by the way Turis had spoken to him he had the feeling that breaking it would not be as easy as they’d hoped. _How did he always manage to mess up like this?_ This sort of stuff never happened to the rest of the team and though Keith had tried to tell him how important he was to Voltron it was times like these when he was sure Keith must have been exaggerating.

He wanted Keith there with him now. Wanted to hold on to him and pretend that none of this was happening. Pretend like they were back in his room as they were last night, finally coming together after so much painful longing. Now that they’d put their fear aside and taken the risk to be together he couldn’t stand the idea of it falling apart. He let out a shaky breath and rubbed his face. _How had he let this happen?_

\--------

The celebration was all together incredible and terrifying in its enormity. Taking place in a huge open hall, the room was meticulously decorated in deep rich colours, flowers and tapestries flowing from floor to ceiling. And it was jammed full of beings. Mostly Piguans but Lance noticed a few other alien races amongst the crowd that he hadn’t seen before. He brushed over them all in search of the familiar black mullet he so desperately wanted to see. But it was so damned crowded he didn’t even know where to begin. Figuring he’d probably find his broody man sulking somewhere in a corner he made his way across the floor but didn't get far before a soft hand was tugging on his.

“Hi stranger,” a feminine breathy voice said lightly in his ear.

Eyes wide Lance whirled to find Rina standing very much in his personal space. Stumbling back a little at the unexpected closeness he found himself sucking in a breath at the sight of her. She had her dark, chocolate hair in two long braids on either side of her oval face, smooth dark skin decorated with pink markings on her face and her dark brown eyes stared back at him with barely concealed desire. And whoa, Lance would have to be blind to not appreciate the dark gorgeous sight in front of him. All varying shades of browns, hazel, caramel, cinnamon, beige, you name it they were painted somewhere in her features and the depths of her eyes and she was taking another step towards him and holy shit he should probably be breathing right now, right?

“Are you going to say hi?” She teased, once again coming a little too close for comfort.

Clearing his throat Lance tried to focus. “Hi,” he barely managed to get out.

She giggled reaching out to grab hold of his hand which was starting to turn clammy as his anxiety kicked in. Shit, he needed to get away. Had Allura spoken with the Piguans yet? Rina certainly wasn’t acting like the arrangement was off. Where the hell was everybody else?

“Did you miss me?” She asked demurely.

“Oh, well…” he stalled as he frantically threw his eyes around the room looking for any familiar face to save him.

She laughed at his obvious fluster. “What happened to the hot, confident charmer from a few days ago? You don't need to be afraid, I promise I won't bite.”

“Much?” The words were out of his mouth before we could stop himself. What the fuck was wrong with him? Was flirting so ingrained in him that he couldn't even help himself. He winced internally.

“Ah there he is,” she giggled again and reached up to run her hands through his hair. She leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “I can't wait to get you alone.”

Lance was sure he couldn't possibly blush any harder than he was right now. She was so close and so forward and he just didn't know what to do. Could he politely tell her to stop? That would be weird right? He didn't want to offend her, well more specifically he didn't want to offend her entire race. Luckily it was just then that a voice broke in.

“Now my sweet Rina there will be plenty of time for this later.” Turis came over to them with a wide smile and open arms, scooping them both up in a hug. 

“I’m afraid I must break up this happy reunion and bring you both along. The feast is about to begin.” And with that he grabbed each of their hands and began pulling them towards the main table, set atop a platform at the front of the room. When they were almost there Lance finally caught sight of his team sitting around a small table to the right of the main stage. 

“Excuse me for just a minute,” Lance said pulling away from the counsellor before he could protest. 

“Guys!” He whisper shouted at them as he got near the table ducking down to sit in the empty chair beside Keith. 

Keith was sitting with a stiff, straight back and Lance could see his hands curled into fists under the table. He glanced at Keith's face curiously to see him staring resolutely in front of himself with a clenched jaw. He could feel the tension rolling off of Keith in waves and couldn't stop himself from reaching out to squeeze his thigh gently, willing Keith to look at him. When he finally did Lance was shocked to see his large violet eyes hard and cold.

“Keith?” He asked tentatively.

The boy in question only stared in response, clenching his jaw harder. It was Hunk who spoke next leaning across Keith so he could see Lance.

“Oh man, buddy this does not look good. Like not good at all.” Lance could hear the stress in his words. “So it turns out this girl's family is like a really big deal and they're viewing your guys hook up as some sort of climbing the social ladder thing. Like it will raise them up to royalty levels or something.”

“What?” Lance could feel his heart rate speed up. He squeezed Keith's leg harder.

“Yeah, Allura was trying to explain how we're at war with the Galra and should be like focusing on that but counsellor Turiansorn wasn't having it. Was saying that now was the perfect time and with you two together he would have more control over the council and provide further aid and…” Hunk paused as he noticed Keith's face turn into a scowl. “Ah, he may have implied that breaking the agreement now would be bad. Like really, really bad.”

Lance felt the colour drain from his face. Ice was creeping through his veins and his eyes flicked to Keith's. The dark haired boy had only tensed further as Hunk spoke and it seemed to be causing him physical pain to look at Lance. Lance wanted to reach out but he was frozen in place. They stared at each other as he watched Keith’s eyes, aching at the pain and hardness in them.

“What are we going to do?” Lance asked.

“I don't know,” Keith said quietly. It felt like he had more to say but he remained frustratingly silent looking away from Lance to stare at the table.

Lance had thought it'd been painful enough before. Quietly pining after Keith for all those months, being too afraid to make a move knowing that the red paladin was too good for him. But now? Having him yet but being unable to touch him properly or hold him or comfort him made his heart clench painfully.

After a few quiet moments Hunk cleared his throat, snapping Lance out of his morose thoughts.

“I - ah - think they’re waiting for you Lance,” he said with a nod towards the main stage. Rina was standing in front of her seat in the middle of the table watching them curiously. Her eyes dropped to Keith’s lap widening slightly as she noticed his hand and Lance quickly jerked back, turning the motion into an awkward wave towards her. She smirked at that and made a motion with her hand, beckoning that he join her.

“Oh no, oh no, what should I do?” Lance hissed turning back to Keith and Hunk, eyes darting frantically between them.

Keith snapped his head as though suddenly remembering his place, technically he was still the leader.

“Just continue to enjoy her company,” he said with a bitter tone in his voice. “I’ll find Allura, we’ll figure this out.”

“Keith?” _What was going on with him? Why was he acting so hostile?_

Keith stared at Lance once more. “Just go Lance. I'll find you later and let you know what's happening.”

Lance swallowed, trying to quell the rising panic and uncertainty inside of him. “Yeah, okay,” he tried to smile weakly at Keith. It was not returned.

Not knowing what else to do Lance got up abruptly to join Rina and Turis at the head table, desperately trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach as he left his friends.

\--------

The feast was way more extravagant than Lance could have imagined. Course after course had come and gone and so far it had all been delicious. Always up for trying new things he found himself getting increasingly excited at every new dish. In front of him now was a plate that looked similar to steak but orange and slightly wriggling still. He was surprised to find the taste was actually overwhelmingly sweet, reminding him more of a fruit then a steak, though it was clearly the meat of some animal by its texture. The food on Puig was the closest to Earth food he’d ever tasted and the reminder of home had him unconsciously releasing the tension he’d been feeling all day with every bite. From his seat he could see and hear Hunk also appreciating the Piguan food and it made him smile to see his best friend so happy.

He’d also found it surprisingly easy to talk with Rina once the flirting was taken down a notch. She talked a lot, telling him about her family and her life, but it was when she started doing impressions and making fun of the counsellors around him that Lance really started to feel at ease. She was funny and kind hearted but had a streak of mischief in her that had Lance practically howling in laughter at one point.

“You’re joking! That did not happen,” he wheezed through his laughter as Rina finished telling him a story of how Turis had once essentially mooned an entire convoy of diplomats from the nearby planet Kewha when he first became a counsellor.

“I kid you not,” she giggled, putting a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter as Turis sent her a quick glare from his end of the table.

“Oh man, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one that messes up interplanetary politics,” he snorted.

“What do you mean? You seem to be the perfect representative for your team.”

His eyebrows shot up at that. “Are you serious? Have you even talked to Allura or Coran? Shiro? Hell sometimes I think even Keith is better at this than me.”

“Keith? Is he the dark haired one?” She inquired jutting her chin in the direction of Keith who was currently standing off to the side, his head bent in conversation with Allura and Shiro. His arms were crossed across his chest and it looked like that scowl of his was now permanent. Shiro and Allura didn’t seem to be too happy either. 

Lance felt the unease begin to swirl in his gut again. “Ah, yeah that’s him,” he mumbled distractedly.

“Is he always so… sour?”

“Hmmm?” Lance questioned, only half paying attention as he strained to hear what the were saying.

“Keith? Is he always like that?” She said nudging his arm to snap him out of it.

He turned to face her, taking in her words for the first time. Was Keith always like that? He used to think so.

“Most of the time, yeah. He’s just… always cautious, you know. Always ready for trouble and all that. Plus he’s not the greatest socially.” Lance snickered to himself thinking about all the times Keith sulked in the background at these type of events. “He doesn’t know how to act around new people, sticks to himself mostly. It takes a while for him to open up but when he does…” Lance trailed off when he caught the look making it’s way across Rina’s face. She seemed to be frowning slightly, brows pinched together.

“You two are close?” She questioned.

“Yeah,” he said simply as a small smile spread his lips automatically.

Rina dropped her eyes and pinched her face closer together, clearly not happy with his answer.

Had he said something wrong? At the sight of her fallen face he scrambled to backpedal. “I mean we all are, you know. They’re my teammates. We need to be close, otherwise we’d never be able to form Voltron.”

Immediately her face brightened. “Voltron! Oh you must tell me what that’s like.” 

And that's how they spent most of the evening, Lance telling Rina stories of his adventures as the blue paladin. It felt nice to brag and talk with someone who wasn't already there. Lance was used to talking, with a large family back home he was always regaling some family member with his stories, always sharing a part of himself with someone. As he spoke with Rina he realized just how much he'd missed this. It was nice. Being here with Rina was just really… nice.

The dinner had been over for a while now and most of the people around them had gotten up to mingle or dance on the main floor. Lance looked over to his team's table and found it curiously empty. In fact not one of his friends were anywhere that he could see. Lance frowned. It'd been at least a few hours and Keith had told him he'd talk to Lance later. What was going on? Had they figured a way out yet? He startled when Rina tugged on his arm.

“Hey, where did that frown come from?” She asked softly. She looked at him for a moment, eyes dropping to his mouth before they suddenly glinted with mischief. “I know, come with me.” She stood quickly and dragged him out of his chair. Lance tried to protest but was completely ignored.

She hurriedly pulled him across the dance floor, hand still gripped tight around his arm, and out the doors of the hall, taking off quickly down the dark corridor that led back towards the bedrooms. Lance felt his heart rate spike.

“Uh, where we going?” He gulped.

“Shhh…,” she chastised, reaching the door to his room and flinging it open. 

Without even bothering to close it she pulled him inside and pushed him up against the wall just inside the doorway. Eager hands traced up his torso, grabbing onto his shoulders as she leaned in towards him.

“Rina stop,” he gasped, grabbing hold of one of her wrists to break away.

She pushed her body up against him and breathed in his ear. “I just want a taste,” she purred, hot breath blowing. “I can't wait till the ceremony.”

“C-ceremony?” Lance struggled to grasp what was happening.

“You know, the ceremony,” she ran her tongue along his ear forcing an involuntary shiver through him. “When we finally get to be together.” She kissed just below his ear. “Tomorrow’s too long to wait.” She moved her free hand off his shoulder and placed it high on his thigh, squeezing lightly.

“Tomorrow!” _What the fuck, what the fuck?!_

“Mmmm,” Rina hummed, raising her hand to brush her fingertips along his stomach, tracing the line of his pants. She began to kiss her way along his jaw, slowly inching closer to his lips.

Lance struggled to breathe, his mind an absolute whirl of thoughts and emotions. It was hard to think with her pressed against him and touching him like that but he knew immediately that it felt wrong. She was too soft, too breathy, too… not Keith. He wanted those rough, calloused hands on him, soft inky black hair in his face, the smell of fire and sweat in his senses.

He raised a shaky hand to her shoulder. “St-stop,” he stammered.

Instead she pushed harder against him and suddenly pressed her lips firm and unyielding against his. His mind went blank for a moment, shocked at the contact. Then a thought entered his head, one word, one person, the only person he wanted like this, _Keith_. He dug his fingers into her shoulder just about to push her away when they heard a crash at the door and a strangled, “Lance!”

_Oh no, oh no, oh no no nonononononooooo._

Keith stood in the doorway, back leaning against the open door and arms outstretched as if he'd stumbled back into it. His mouth hung open and his shoulders were tense but it was the look in his eyes that tore at Lance’s heart. They were wide and shining, bottomless pools of hurt staring at Lance like he couldn't comprehend what was happening. _Shit, fuck._

“Oops,” Rina said coyly, stepping away from Lance. “Looks like we've been caught.” 

Lance turned to face her just in time to see the smug smile she flashed Keith’s way. “Until tomorrow then,” she said as she leaned in to place a kiss on Lance’s cheek, eyes never leaving Keith’s direction.

Still too stunned and terrified to think Lance stood there frozen, eyes on to the floor as she stepped back and sashayed her way to the door without another word to either boy. Agonizingly slow seconds passed as Lance tried to work up the courage to look at Keith. _Why had he followed Rina in here? Why had he been so stupid?_ Swallowing at the lump in his throat he licked his dry lips and finally brought his head up to look in Keith’s direction.

Keith's chest was heaving and shoulders shaking from the long shuddering breaths he took. It reminded Lance of the way someone might look after waking from a nightmare, sweaty and terrified. The sight had Lance moving towards him quickly, desperate to comfort him, to fix this.

He grabbed Keith's face forcing their eyes to meet. “Keith, that wasn't what -”

“Get your hands off me,” Keith cut in, pushing Lance away violently.

He stumbled back catching his footing and came forward again, afraid of the space put between them. “No Keith, please listen-”

“I don't want to hear it Lance.”

“But she forced-”

“I SAID I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!” Keith yelled, pushing away at Lance again and slamming the door shut. Keith turned back to glare at Lance. It was a look full of anger, one he'd only ever seen directed at the Galra they’d battled, until now. Lance swallowed hard, mind in a panic. _Oh shit, what can I do?_

Keith took another shuddering breath, this time when he spoke it was quiet, a barely heard whisper seething with rage. “I've spent all night trying to figure this out. Trying to get you out of this. And this… this is what you do?”

“Keith,” Lance tried.

“All night, I’ve been - I've had to watch-” Keith choked on his words. He took another breath and glared even harder at Lance. “I should have known, this is just like you.”

Lance sucked in a breath, Keith's words burning a righteous indignation within him. “Just like me?” He spat, sending Keith a glare of his own.

“You always wanted to be the playboy didn't you? Just so desperate to feel needed. To feel wanted.” Keith lips curled in a snarl.

Lance froze, an ice so cold it burned scorched its way through his body. “How dare you!” He shouted, body shaking. “How dare you say that to me, after everything I've told you-” He blew out a hot breath. “This is just as much your fault as mine. If you weren't so god damned closed off and repressed-”

“Shut your fucking mouth! You have no idea what you’re talking about-”

“And you don't know shit about me!”

They stared at each other, both of them trembling and desperate for breath. Lance felt as though he was seeing Keith through a veil, his pain and anger becoming a physical black cloud over his eyes.

“Yeah?” Keith spoke, low and dangerous. “I may not know shit.” He strode towards Lance, dark and menacing like an avenging wraith. He stopped inches away, close enough to feel the heat of his body, to see his eyes as they turned cold. “But I do know that this... was a mistake.”

He stared at Lance a second longer then turned on his heel and stalked to the door, slamming it shut on his way out. Feeling like he’d break apart in anger if he didn’t do something Lance grabbed at the first thing he could, hefting a large stone sculpture over his head. He took all his emotions, dragged them up into his lungs and let them fly out his throat in an anguished cry as he threw the sculpture across the room with all his strength, watching it smash to pieces against the door. 

He stood there for several minutes, his body shaking violently until he slumped to his knees as the last of his anger finally burnt up. Keith was gone. Keith was gone and it was all his fault. He bowed his head under the weight of what had happened and felt his heart shatter just like the stone sculpture lying a few feet away.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut warning again

His footsteps echoed down the corridor, loud and heavy like his breathing. His body moved on it’s own as the anger, heart break and confusion took over his mind, choking off any rational thought. The image of Lance kissing Rina was burned into his brain, he could see it in front of him as if he was still in that room. _God, I’ve been so stupid._ Feeling a burn behind his eyes and the uncontrollable trembling of his body he picked up his pace. He needed to get out there.

Keith found himself in Red’s hangar before his mind had even known where he was going. Although he was technically no longer her paladin she lowered her head so he could climb into the cockpit, enveloping him in a familiar and comforting warmth that had him gasping for breath and trying to maintain control. It felt so good to be with Red again but he couldn't get past Lance’s betrayal to have a proper reunion. He grabbed ahold of the controls and took off with Red, mind momentarily blank as the black vastness of space and the light from distant stars streaked by.

“Keith? Are you there? What are you doing?” Shiro’s voice was suddenly coming over the comm system, tense and concerned.

“I can't be there Shiro. I just can't-” he choked on his words.

“But the meeting’s about to start, you need to be here.”

“No, it's over. We don't need it, Lance made his choice.”

“What? Keith, what’s happened?”

“I said it’s over Shiro!” Keith gripped hard on the controls and turned his receiver off, unable to talk anymore.

It was reckless, he knew. He should be finishing what he started, he should be with the team fixing this, not running away like a coward but he couldn't stand it, couldn't even stand to be in his own skin, he needed this.

He pushed Red onwards, flying fast, much faster than he could with the black lion. They weaved through space, ducking asteroids and debris and blasting what they couldn't, leaving a path of destruction through their small slice of the universe. But it wasn't helping. With every mile he put between himself and Lance he felt the void inside him grow like it was splitting right through his heart.

He tried not to think about Lance, about how even through all his anger and resentment it was still Lance he wanted with him now. He hated himself for his weakness. Hated how there was a part of him that wanted to stick with Lance, even through this arrangement with Rina. If Lance still wanted him maybe it would be enough, maybe he could share. _How pathetic could he be?_

Red had been quiet through their frantic flight but at that thought she took over the controls suddenly jerking them to a stop as she made her feelings known.

“Stop,” he pleaded while she flooded his senses with a motherly love and pride for him. “Please stop.”

But she wouldn't give in. She blanketed him with a lighter warmth than when he'd first stepped aboard, not wanting to overwhelm him again. But it was gentle and insistent, letting him know he was loved and cared for. Flashes of his team came to his mind, warm hugs from Hunk, nerdy jokes with Pidge, a firm clasp of his shoulder from Shiro and finally Lance. In seconds he was seeing every look, every word, every tender moment Lance had ever given him, proof that he did care, probably a lot more than Keith had even realized.

“He can't - you weren't there, you didn't see,” he sobbed, the last of his anger finally giving way to the crushing pain he'd felt watching Lance with Rina all evening. He was shaking and wrapped his arms around himself, trying to keep together while his entire being threatened to break apart. No one had ever touched him like Lance had. No one had ever made him feel as safe and valued. It was something he'd convinced himself he never needed but now that it was gone the absence was stifling.

“I don't know what to do,” he whispered to himself. He knew what he wanted to do, what he longed to do, but he was too hurt and too terrified to put himself out there. Lance didn't want him anymore and he'd made sure to push Lance away before he could leave himself. _It's better this way._

Red balked at that but eased up on the intrusive images in Keith's mind. Instead she rumbled lowly, a soft purr so quiet he wouldn't have known it was there if not for the calm he could feel edging around his hurt and wounded consciousness. He stared out at the black nothingness of space and tried taking it into himself. If there was nothing inside him than he'd never have to feel this tearing agony again. That thought momentarily comforted him and he drifted off to fantasies of his desert shack, once filled with a deep lonely emptiness that he found himself longing for in this moment.

\--------

He awoke to a violent shaking of his shoulders.

“Come on man wake up! Keith, we need to hurry.”

“Huh?” Keith opened a bleary eye and peered into the face of a very sweaty and panicked Hunk. Behind him he could just make out Red’s cockpit. “Whatareyoudoinghere?” He slurred, barely conscious yet.

“Where have you been?! We've been stalling with the Olkari priest since last night and you just took off? What the hell man? We were gonna do the thing to save Lance and we gotta do it now because the ceremony is in a few hours and I don't know about you but I do not want to be around for that and it's all set up but we need you and you're sleeping! And in Red-”

“Hunk, stop.” He held up his hand in a pleading gesture, rubbing his head as he sat up from his slumped position in the pilot seat.

“Keith we don't have time, come on dude.” Hunk grabbed for Keith's wrist but he quickly jerked it away.

“No Hunk, it's over. Lance and I - there's no need anymore.”

“What?”

Keith swallowed, his mouth dry as the emotions from last night came rushing back at him. So much for the black nothingness of space. “He's perfectly happy with Rina. He's made his choice.” He looked down at Red’s controls, unable to meet Hunk’s eyes.

“Uh…” Hunk paused, seemingly unsure about what to say. “Have you talked to Lance about this?”

Keith pushed himself up with a frustrated sigh. “I saw him last night okay, with her,” he tried to ignore how his voice cracked at the memory. “He seemed just fine with the situation.” He was pacing, already agitated with grief and anger. 

Hunk remained silent for so long that he finally chanced a look up at the yellow paladin. His brows were pinched together with a small frown on his face. “I saw Lance after that,” he gave Keith a piercing stare, “he's not fine Keith.”

The dark haired boy felt a rush of something swell inside him at Hunk’s words but he quickly pushed it down, he wouldn't allow himself to hope anymore. Folding his arms across his chest he turned his back on Hunk, looking out into Red’s hangar. He felt a gentle hand settle on his shoulder.

“Keith, just talk to him.”

“No Hunk.” He sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. “It's better this way.” His voice was barely a whisper and it shook on the way out.

Hunk grew silent again and this time Keith didn't look at him. He didn't see the way Hunk’s eyes moved back and forth furiously while he thought. He didn't see the darting glance or sly smile Hunk sent his way before taking on an air of resigned sadness. Hunk turned to Keith and sighed. “Fine,” he said, “I don't agree but it's clear you've made up your mind. Help me get Lance, he needs to get ready for the ceremony.”

Keith felt another onslaught of emotion claw its way through his body. “No, please Hunk I can't.”

“You're the leader now, time to oversee your decisions.” Hunk’s tone was harsh and he grabbed Keith's hand before he could jump away, pulling him down the ramp and far from his beloved Lion.

Any other time Keith would've fought him off and he wished so desperately that this was any other time, but Hunk had used the magic words. _“You're the leader now.” Some leader that is._ He straightened his spine and tried to steel his heart to see Lance again. He hoped it wouldn't break him.

Hunk was still forcefully pulling Keith along the corridor when they made it Lance’s room. As they approached two guards appeared on either side of the door, crossing long staffs in front of it.

“State your business,” a tall powerful looking guard on the right demanded.

“We're here to get Lance,” Hunk replied lifting an eyebrow in confusion. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We are here to protect the blue paladin before the ceremony.”

“Protect? Why?” Keith couldn't keep the concern out of his voice.

The guard didn't answer but simply stared at them in response. Keith looked to Hunk for an explanation who only shrugged his shoulders.

“Can we see him?” Hunk asked.

The guards exchanged a look before finally, almost reluctantly, stepping to the side. Keith swallowed the lump in his throat and waited for Hunk to turn the door handle, there was absolutely no way he was going in there first. Just as he started to push the door open Hunk suddenly exclaimed, “I almost forgot I have to talk with Pidge. You get Lance and we'll meet you at the ceremony.” He then pushed Keith through the door without a word, slamming it shut behind him.

Keith cursed and moved to the door grabbing at the handle in a frenzy. _Oh no, what the fuck? Oh no._ In his panicked state he was just about to pound on the door and scream for Hunk when he heard a surprised intake of breath and a whispered, “shit.”

Slowly and with dread Keith turned to see Lance standing a few feet away from him with a stunned look on his face. The first thought that came to Keith's mind at the sight was ‘beautiful.’ And it hurt, _oh god how it hurt_ to look at him. His blazing blue eyes were red rimmed and shadowed by large purple bags below. His short brown hair was a mess and his full lips shook as he looked back at Keith. In all honesty he looked like he'd had a terrible, sleepless night yet still Keith had never seen anyone more beautiful. His already bleeding heart broke a little more.

He saw the bob of Lance’s Adam's apple as he swallowed. “You look like shit,” his voice rasped.

Too defeated to rise to the bait Keith answered honestly, “I feel like it.”

He saw Lance widen his eyes before Keith dropped his own, unable to bear the torture it was to look at him. He cleared his throat.

“Why are you here Keith?”

“I've come to get you ready for the ceremony.” He felt the words burn up his throat as the reality set it.

He heard Lance exhale softly, then the rustling of fabric and groan of a mattress as Lance shifted to sit on the bed in the middle of the room. As Keith's eyes continued to roam the floor in front of him he noticed a pile of broken stone pieces off to the side of the door. Not even in this room for 24 hours and he'd already broken something. Keith wanted to laugh at Lance but couldn't find any humour left in him.

“So then nothing could be done?” Lance asked quietly. _Why would Lance ask that? Didn't he like Rina?_

As if reading his mind Lance continued, “I know how you feel but I still don't want this. I just can't…” He trailed off, not bothering to finish his thought out loud. Hope spiked through Keith's veins but he tried to ignore it.

“Lance, I saw you. You and Rina,” he hesitated, not wanting to admit what he saw between them, “you're good together.”

“What?” Lance was incredulous.

Keith bit down on his pain. “You were happy with her. I saw you guys talking and laughing. You make a good pair.”

“Keith.” Lance rose from the bed and hesitantly strode towards him. “Is that why you said those things last night? You think I want to be with her?”

“I saw you kissing her Lance. I'm not stupid.” He barked in irritation, stepping back to put more distance between them.

“I know and I'm so sorry. She just jumped me. I'm the stupid one, I never should've followed her in here.” Lance was speaking quickly. Trying to get the words out before Keith could interrupt him.

“ _She_ kissed _you_?” His voice was shaking. He was dangerously close to hoping again.

“Yes! I told her to stop. I don't want to be with her Keith. How many times do I-” Lance stopped abruptly pulling back and running his hands through his hair in frustration. He bit his lip and looked at Keith.

Keith was trembling, hands balled into fists and his heart about to beat right out of his chest. It was stuttering an uneven rhythm, painful and consuming. He wondered if Lance could hear it from where he stood. He licked his dry lips and whispered out, “How many times what?”

Lance screwed up his face for a second, a pain so intense Keith almost looked away flashing across, then he steeled his gaze and moved purposefully to Keith, reaching out without hesitation to lightly cup his face.

“How many times do I have to say I want to be with _you_ before you believe me?” He whispered, determined eyes boring into Keith's.

Keith sucked in his breath, still shaking and eyes darting between Lance’s, searching for the truth. He knew how much it hurt to be without Lance. He'd had a taste of that heartbreak last night. He didn't think he could make it through a second time. In short, he was terrified. He reached up with a shaking hand and grabbed Lance’s wrist.

“Lance,” he breathed. “I… I can't.”

He tried to pull away but Lance tangled a hand in the hair at the back of his neck and gently yanked him closer, holding him in place. “Why not?” He asked almost angry.

The burning intensity in Lance’s blue eyes ignited a spark deep in Keith’s belly. Scared as he was he could feel his body craving Lance. It felt so good to be touched by him again, he wanted to melt into it. He took in another shaky breath. “I’m just - I don't - I…” His panicked eyes looked back at Lance.

“Keith,” Lance whispered, pressing their bodies closer together and tightening his grip. “I'm not going anywhere,” he fiercely swore.

The heat was rising over Keith’s body, his skin scorched under his clothes where they touched. He gasped for breath fighting the paralyzingly fear within him. 

“You are though… this arrangement...” He whispered back, eyes dropping down.

Lance leaned in, brushing their lips together. He spoke against Keith's as they quivered, “Fuck the universe, you're all I want,” he breathed. Then pushed their lips together.

Immediately Keith parted his lips in invitation, allowing Lance to lick into him, feeling the powerful movements between their tongues. He brought his hands up to Lance’s face to trace his features, hardly believing he was so close again. Lance titled Keith’s head by yanking back his hair and Keith groaned into his mouth. Dropping his hands to Lance’s shoulder he dug his nails in and was rewarded with a breathy gasp from Lance.

“Lance,” he whined, suddenly desperate to know Lance really wanted him. “You mean it?”

Lance pulled back to look into his eyes. “Yes, always,” he promised and dove in to attack his throat with kisses. He nuzzled into the crook of Keith’s neck and sucked a mark into his pale skin.

Keith’s heart broke open at that and all the love and desire he'd tried to bury came hurtling back in. He felt it pulsing through his core, tingling in his fingers and he absolutely needed to be closer in that moment. He lifted Lance’s face to bring their lips together again as his hands dove for the waistband of his pants. Lance sucked in his stomach allowing Keith to wriggle a hand under his clothes and soon he was grabbing onto Lance’s cock, stroking with a frenzied passion he barely recognized as his own, a sudden need to claim Lance taking over. Lance jerked his hips forward and choked out Keith's name, using his own hands to push his pants down his legs so Keith had more room to work. Keith twisted his wrist in the newfound space and rubbed his thumb along the head and slit. He worked Lance’s length, squeezing and twisting while Lance panted against his lips. Pre come began leaking out and Keith couldn't resist his urge to taste it as he brought the hand up to his lips. Lance widen his eyes and hissed out a curse as he watched Keith swirl a tongue around his own thumb.

Seemingly taken over by the same blind, all consuming desire, Lance suddenly dropped to his knees and furiously tugged at Keith's belt, sliding it open and pulling his pants down to the floor. He took a moment to appreciate the view as he palmed Keith’s balls and pressed his fingers against his perineum. Keith moaned loudly and wove his hands into Lance’s hair, pushing his mouth closer. With a wicked grin Lance leaned in and licked his way slowly up Keith's inner thigh.

“Mmm, Lance,” Keith moaned again.

Lance looked up at Keith, holding eye contact as he gripped his cock and slipped the head into his mouth. Keith gasped and Lance’s eyelids fluttered shut in pleasure as he pushed Keith deeper inside his mouth and moaned around him. Keith felt his legs shake and struggled to remain standing as the vibrations settled low in his abdomen, already starting to build a delicious heat. Lance moved the hand at the base of his cock languidly up and down as he swirled his tongue, intermittently sucking and releasing. He hummed his satisfaction around Keith every time he heard a breathy noise escape the red paladin.

“More, please…Lance,” Keith found himself begging as he held on to Lance’s hair and pushed his hips forward into Lance's mouth. Lance groaned and slackened his jaw slightly, grabbing onto Keith's ass and encouraging him to thrust. Not needing to be told twice Keith swore and began to fuck Lance’s mouth. Slow and shallow at first but eventually picking up speed and pushing further into Lance's throat with each pump. Keith watched as spit and pre come slid down the side of Lance’s jaw and jerked hard at the sight causing Lance to open his watering eyes with a look of absolute bliss on his face.

“Oh Fuck, you love this don't you?” Keith asked feeling the heat uncoiling quick in his belly. Lance moaned and nodded, dropping a hand down to jerk himself off in swift motions. Lance's gasps grew ragged as Keith pushed harder at the back of his throat and gurgled moans escaped his mouth. The noises Lance was making brought him to the edge and he gripped hard in Lance's hair pushing as far as he could into the wet heat. His whole body shook and just as he thought to warn Lance he was suddenly coming hard down his throat. Lance swallowed down the thick white liquid and with a final stuttering jerk came violently in his own hand, shuddering on his knees as some of Keith's come trickled down his chin. He pulled off to catch his breath and Keith had one second to appreciate the glassy eyed and fucking incredible sight that was Lance before the bedroom door was suddenly flung open.

“Exciting day today my-” Counsellor Turis was standing in the doorway, stopped mid stride, mid sentence, eyes wide and face scandalized.

Keith froze, dick out and going soft, inches away from Lance’s messy, come streaked face.

“What - how - what is this?!” Turis spluttered, rage shaking his whole body as he took in the completely filthy scene in front of him.

Lance was the first to move, quickly stuffing himself back into his pants and running an arm across his mouth. “Shit, Turis. We can explain.”

Keith, still frozen in place, felt Lance reach over and pull his pants up, giving him a shove to snap him out of it.

Turis brought himself up to his full height, dark enraged eyes narrowed on Keith. “You,” he pointed a shaking finger. “You have defiled him and made a mockery of our ceremony. You must pay for this treachery.”

“What? Turis no,” Lance tried. “Keith and I are together. We were going to tell you-”

“Impossible!” Turis yelled. “You entered into the agreement. This, this... boy,” he pointed at Keith again, “has ruined the agreement and insulted my family. I will not stand for it. Guards!”

And with that the two guards that were stationed outside the door rushed in.

“Take that one to the prison, he shall be tried for his crimes.”

They began to advance on Keith wielding their staffs as weapons as they moved. Instinctively Keith reached for his bayard, activating the sword and crouching into a defensive position.

“No,” Lance commanded stepping between Keith and the guards. “Stop this, we should have told you from the beginning but we're together and I won't let you take him anywhere.” At this he also grabbed his bayard, preparing to fight.

“Oh we will deal with you as well,” Turis spat. “Guards!”

Keith watched as another group of guards entered the room, these ones with guns immediately trained on Keith and Lance. Before he could even react they were both shot simultaneously and they dropped to the floor as a strange kind of electric current coursed through their bodies. Keith let out a strangled cry as he tried to reach for Lance but he could barely move, his limbs starting to grow heavy and useless.

“Keith!” Lance yelled, the panic clear in his voice. He had landed on his stomach facing away from Keith and couldn't see him.

“Lance,” Keith replied just as two guards reached him and hauled him up from his knees.

They began dragging him towards the door while Keith struggled in vain to move his body. Wide eyed he saw Lance look at him as they reached the door and his line of vision.

“Don't touch him, he's the leader of Voltron!” Lance roared in fear and anger but like Keith he was completely unable to move.

Turis scoffed. “Voltron or not he has broken a sacred tradition of our people and must pay the price.”

“What price?” Lance asked, panicked eyes never leaving Keith's.

Turis sent a cruel and twisted smile Keith's way and he could feel the terror begin to climb up his throat at that look.

“He will pay with his life.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

“He is the red paladin and pilot of the black lion of Voltron, the only weapon capable of defeating Zarkon and his 10,000 year tyranny, if you do not stand down the entire universe will suffer!”

Allura had been yelling at somebody out there, presumably the guards, for the past half hour or so by Keith’s count and to be honest he was impressed they’d stood their ground for so long. He’d immediately been taken through an underground network of tunnels and caves to a cell that was little more than a small round alcove carved into rock. It was cold down there and only illuminated by strange glowing slug like creatures that had been littered throughout the cave system. Keith had briefly wondered how the Piguans managed to keep them spaced so evenly apart before he realized he should probably focus his attention on other matters. Like how to get out of there.

The threat that Turis had made on his life didn’t really bother him as much as he supposed it should’ve. After fighting fleets of Galra soldiers, giant killer robots and Zarkon himself he wasn’t too worried about escaping from the Piguans. Keith knew he could fight, and fight well, but he also knew how important it had been to Allura to create allies and have as many planets and their fighters join the coalition and the war. Now thanks to his less than discreet reunion with Lance it seemed they’d really messed that up. But hearing Allura’s indignation and outrage at Keith’s imprisonment made him feel a little bit better about the whole thing. At least now he knew she probably wouldn’t be too upset when he took out the next guard who entered his cell so he could escape. Because as much as he wasn’t concerned for his well being he still had no idea what had happened to Lance.

Turis’ ominous comment about dealing with Lance had set Keith on edge. He knew Lance could handle himself in most situations but not knowing what the situation was, was torture. Keith had only just accepted that someone as kind and open hearted as Lance would really want to be with someone like him and he was not about to let that go. So whether or not Lance actually needed his help was not the question, Keith was going to be there to protect and keep him safe.

Having just recently regained the ability to move he was currently pacing his cell and stretching his limbs, looking at the bars where they met the rock, searching for weakness. Perhaps he wouldn’t have to wait for a guard to come before escaping. Lost in thought and staring at the tops of the bars he didn’t notice the flicker of movement in front of him until he heard the light clearing of someone’s throat.

His eyes snapped down and locked on Rina, standing in an apologetic stance in front of him. Eyes wide and mouth parted slightly she cleared her throat again but hesitated. Not knowing what to do or say Keith remained still and fought the urge to glare. She clearly wasn’t here to gloat but he couldn’t help the tightening in his gut at the sight of her and the almost violent need to threaten her. But looking at her now Keith knew it’d be like kicking a wounded puppy. The silence stretched uncomfortably between them. Taking a deep breath, a look of determination crossed Rina’s face as she finally spoke.

“I’ve come to apologize.”

Keith raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing.

“For your situation,” she clarified. “This is not what I wanted to happen to you… or Lance.”

At that Keith sucked in a breath. “What do you mean? What’s happened to Lance?” His voice was quiet but dangerous, the threatening tone barely concealed.

Rina widened her eyes but was quick to placate. “He’s okay, he’s just being detained in his room while the trial gets organized.”

“Trial?”

“When an agreement is broken by an act of, ah… imprudence... there is usually a trial before the council to determine what should be done.” Her eyes watched Keith as she spoke and he found himself restless under her gaze. He hated the thought of being at the mercy of other people’s whims. It was like being expelled from the Garrison all over again.

“Yeah well it seems counsellor Turis has already made his decision.”

Rina sighed. “The decision is not his alone, though he was hoping my union with Lance would change that.”

“Is that why you tried to seduce him?” He tried not to spit the words at her, he really did. She flinched anyway.

“I-I like Lance,” she said, small and shoulders hunched inwards. “I didn’t know about you two.”

Keith couldn’t help the twisted huff of laughter that escaped him. He remembered the look Rina had given him as she stepped away from Lance when he’d walked in on them. She knew.

“At first,” she continued, meeting his eyes. “I didn’t know about you two when I first gave him the token. It wasn’t until the celebration, when he talked about you. The way he watched you…” she trailed off obviously pained by the thought.

And was it really that obvious? Were Lance’s feelings that easy to read for a woman who’d only known him a few hours and yet Keith had doubted them? He ducked his head and felt a blush bloom across his face in equal parts embarrassment and happiness.

“But I knew after that. I knew you were following us when I took him to his room. I wanted you to see that he was mine.” She confessed in a quiet hush, dropping her eyes to the floor, her mouth an unhappy line across her face.

Keith felt a flash of anger inside him. “He’s not yours.”

“I know,” Rina whispered. “I knew he didn’t know what accepting my token would mean but I had hoped that as he got to know me it would be okay.” She took in a deep steadying breath and looked at Keith again. “I’m sorry.”

Keith wanted to stay angry. Because of her they were in the mess. Because of her the joy he’d felt at finally showing his feelings to Lance, finally being able to touch him, had turned into this. But the defeat in her words and tone stopped him. The anger melted away without his permission and all that was left was an empty longing for what could have been. They sat in silence for a moment, Keith lost in his thoughts and Rina waiting for him to speak. Finally Keith did.

“Thank you,” he tried to sound as sincere as possible, despite the bitterness he still felt. “But… is that really why you’re here.”

“Partly.” She suddenly stood straighter and squared her shoulders towards him. “I’ve also come to help get you out of this.”

\--------

Lance was pacing, had been pacing for what felt like hours now. Finally back in control of his body he felt the need to move, to do something, and being currently locked in his room, pacing was just about the only thing he could do. He hadn't been able to see or talk to anyone and he was losing his mind. Where was Keith? Turis couldn't possibly make good on his threat, could he? Keith was the head of Voltron, there was no way Allura would ever let this happen to any of them. _Right?_

Just when he thought he couldn't take another minute being left in the dark like this the door to his room finally opened and in stepped the instantly comforting sight of Shiro.

“Shiro! What’s going on? Where’s Keith? What’s happening?”

Shiro held up a hand in a silent plea for Lance to calm down. He walked quickly to Lance, laying his hands on his shoulders and looking him in the eye with a reassuring look. “He’s okay, they’ve taken him to a holding cell. Allura was there to make sure nothing happened to him.”

“They can’t keep him there, can they? They can’t actually…” He couldn’t bring himself to even say the words. The idea that actual harm could come to Keith, and because of him, was too much for him to bear.

“No. We won’t let anything happen to him, you know that Lance.”

Lance let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. With the comforting warmth of Shiro’s hands still on his shoulders he allowed some the tension in them to release, letting go of at least a bit of the fear he’d been holding in for Keith. “Oh thank god.”

Shiro tightened his grip quickly before dropping his hands. It was then that Lance caught the hesitant look Shiro gave him before looking away.

“What?” Lance asked, reaching a hand out to grab Shiro’s arm. “Shiro, what is it?”

“Well,” Shiro rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a little bit tricky.”

Lance waited for Shiro to continue, already not liking the tone of his voice.

“You see, if the rest of the council was being as unreasonable about this as counsellor Turis than we would just break Keith out and sever all ties with Puig. But…”

“But?” Lance prompted, a prickle of unease settling in his gut.

“But there’s actually a way that we can get Keith and end the agreement in a relatively peaceful way, while still maintaining our alliance.”

“What do you mean by ‘relatively peaceful’?” Lance eyed Shiro suspiciously.

“You can act as a sort of champion… for Keith.”

“Huh?” Was all Lance’s poor brain could supply in the moment.

“Ah,” Shiro paused, searching for the right words. “I guess it’s kind of like, defending his honour?”

“What? Shiro, this is Keith we’re talking about. Pretty sure he can defend himself.”

“It’s more symbolic than that. The mating agreement is a sacred tradition of the Piguans. When you enter into an agreement you’re required to save yourself and your, ah, seed,” Shiro winced at the word, clearly uncomfortable, “for the intended recipient. So the two participants are considered off limits to anyone else. If one is caught with another person it’s like adultery but the blame is usually placed on the other person. In this case Keith.”

“So what? All the blame goes to Keith? Like he’s some sort of evil seductress?”

Shiro quirked an eyebrow and the tiniest smile at the title. “Yeah, pretty much. They don’t want to end the agreement so they only punish the person outside of it.”

“They don’t want to end the agreement? You mean Keith gets punished and I still have to go through with it!” Lance could feel his outrage as Shiro’s words seeped in. This was all kinds of messed up.

“Usually but Lance that’s why I’m here. We’ve learned a way around this, you can meet with the council, tell them you and Keith are in a relationship and demand to defend him.”

“I still don’t get what you mean by that. How do I defend his honour?”

“From what I understand you would be put through a series of trials and if you make it through them all Keith is released and you’re free to be together.”

It sounded too good to be true. Which meant that it probably was. “What kind of trials?” Lance asked, wary of the answer.

“We’re not sure. But from what Rina said it sounds like they’re mostly physical challenges.”

“Rina?”

“Yes. She went to see Keith and told him about it. He’s already requested a meeting with the council. They should be sending for you soon. At least that’s what she said.” 

Shiro was watching him with a scrutinizing look, as if looking for signs that Lance would be okay with this. And was he okay with this? There was a chance that they could get out this. Keith would be released, the agreement would be over and they could get the hell out of there without ruining Voltron’s relationship with the Piguan people. This was exactly what they’d be hoping for right? But it all came down to _Lance_ and he was the one with the least amount of skill, who contributed the least to this team, he should not be the one this whole thing rested on. _Could he actually do this?_

He thought about Keith and what he’d told him. He’d said that he wasn’t going anywhere, that he’d stay with him always and he’d meant it. How could he not do everything in his power now to make this right for Keith? For everyone? And okay maybe he over exaggerated slightly when he’d said, “fuck the universe,” because now that the opportunity to get out of the agreement without breaking an alliance was there he felt a deep seated desire to take it. Fear and self-doubt aside this was something he had to do. And if Keith had already requested a meeting it meant that at least he had some faith in Lance. Right?

“Okay Shiro,” he said offering a small but determined smile. “Let’s do this.”

\--------

The meeting was shorter than Lance had expected. Admittedly though his attention had mostly been on Keith. The Piguans had bound Keith’s arms behind his back and set him at the far end of the room, with two guards on either side of him, like a criminal. To Lance it seemed excessive for the situation but one look at the red, glowering face of counsellor Turis and he decided to keep his mouth shut about it. As much as he hated to see the treatment Keith was receiving he knew better than to stir the pot when they were so close to resolving this. 

There were five other counsellors seated around a half mooned table, with Lance and Allura on the other side facing them. For the most part the other counsellors remained impassive and difficult to read throughout the meeting but Lance was pretty sure they weren’t nearly as upset about the whole caught in the act thing as Turis was. Which was good because at the mention of Keith and Lance’s relationship he’d sputtered, face turning almost purple in colour.

“And you care enough about the red paladin to face the trials alone?” A female counsellor in the middle of the table had asked.

Lance hadn’t even hesitated with his answer as he’d locked eyes with Keith across the room. If the atmosphere around them hadn’t been so intense Lance was sure Keith would’ve been smirking. As it was the heated gaze Keith sent his way had Lance’s heart picking up speed and his brain unable to focus on much else. It wasn’t until the meeting came to a close that Lance finally looked back to the counsellors.

“So it’s settled then. Lance will submit himself to the trials and once successful he will be free of the agreement, Keith shall immediately be released to us and we will count on your allegiance to the Voltron coalition.” Allura was repeating the points and nudging Lance, clearly aware that his attention was elsewhere.

“ _If_ successful,” Turis all but spit out. “Then yes.”

“Alright then, let’s get this show on the road.” Lance stood from his chair and clapped his hands together in what he hoped looked like casual acceptance. Inside his stomach was roiling in trepidation but the council certainly didn’t need to know that.

“Yes if you’ll follow the guards there,” a counsellor motioned towards the guards beside Keith, “they will take you to the arena.”

“A-arena? What exactly are these trials?” Lance questioned, just realizing now that he still didn’t know.

“You will find out soon enough.” Was the only answer he received from the counsellors.

Not wanting to show his anxiety he simply shrugged his shoulders and moved to make his way over to Keith when Allura grabbed his arm as we went to pass. He paused to look up at her.

”Lance,” she spoke low but intent. “Be careful out there.” Her fingers squeezed his arm gently with her words.

“Don’t worry princess, I’ve got this,” he said continuing on his way and shooting her finger guns.

She rolled her eyes but the smile on her face was nothing but genuine and fond. Surprised by her open affection Lance ducked his head and turned to follow Keith and the guards out of the room, the slightest shade of pink dusting his cheeks.

Once out in the hallway Keith was led with one guard in front of him and one behind. He had just started to turn so he could look over his shoulder at Lance when the guard behind gave him a sharp push forward. The guard demanded that Keith keep moving, eyes forward just as Lance shouted, “Hey,” and reached out to shove the guard into the wall. 

“Don’t push him like that,” Lance snarled in the face of the guard, voice low and threatening.

“Lance, stop.” Keith’s voice cut into the tension. Startled he looked up to see Keith giving him a reproachful look. The guard took advantage of his distraction and pushed back against Lance for space, drawing up to his full height and looking angry. After a last look at Keith and his obvious disapproval he decided it was probably best to drop it.

“Sorry, I just didn't like seeing my boyfriend being pushed around.” Recovering quickly he pat the guard’s chest good naturedly and sent Keith a wink.

“Boyfriend?” Keith asked, looking down to hide his blush behind his bangs.

“Well yeah, if I’m gonna valiantly defend your honour then I get to call you my boyfriend.”

Keith looked up again, full red cheeks and all, and smiled one of his rare, bright smiles. Lance’s heart skipped a beat… or two.

“My honour?” Keith echoed, lifting an eyebrow.

“Shiro’s words.” 

He must have been drifting to Keith because suddenly they were much closer than before. The guard Lance had manhandled earlier tensed beside him but the warning look Lance shot him stilled his movements.

“So um…” Lance swallowed looking back at Keith, his false bravado from earlier falling away. “If something happens out there or I don’t make it through-“

“You’ve got this Lance.”

“Sure but just in case-”

“No.” Keith reached to cover Lance’s mouth with his hand. “You do.”

Keith’s eyes were fiercely holding Lance’s captive, willing him to feel the same confidence. Lance felt a warmth spread across his chest and slowly seep into his resolve.

“Keith,” he whispered against the hand, reaching out to draw his boyfriend closer to him.

Keith went willingly, dropping his hand and tilting his head to fit their lips together. It was a sweet, chaste kiss with just the slightest press of lips. A promise of more to come. The guard beside them cleared his throat and began to nudge Lance onward the moment they separated.

“So I guess… I’ll see you soon.” Lance tried to sound nonchalant but was pretty sure he missed the mark by the sad but encouraging smile Keith sent his way.

“You will,” Keith reaffirmed. “And Lance? - I'm glad it's you defending my honour.”

Cheesy as the statement was Lance couldn’t deny that growing warmth burned a little hotter within him, sparking his adrenaline and filling him with a confidence he’d only been faking up until this point. With one last smile to Keith he finally gave into the push of the guard and moved down the hallway, ready to face whatever trials awaited.

\--------

He was led down a series of hallways which finally opened up into a large open plain, natural high cliffs on the sides roughly enclosing the space. There were ledges carved into the rock, travelling up the walls to create arena type seating for the Piguan people and damn were they packed in. The sheer volume of noise and excitement echoed off the walls and reverberated throughout the space, jamming in Lance’s head and making it hard to concentrate. A small Piguan woman was standing in front of Lance explaining the nature of the arena to him.

He stood before a large wall which blocked his view of the rest of the arena, a door sat in the centre. There were intricate markings all over the wall and it looked like they might tell a story, could even be written in the Piguan language but Lance couldn’t tell. He watched them, noticing the way the markings seemed to be leading towards the door, maybe even swirling towards it the closer he looked.

“Did you get that?” The woman was looking at him quizzically, tilting her head to get into his line of vision.

Realizing she must have been talking Lance rubbed the back of his neck shyly. “Ummm… I’m sorry?”

She gave an exasperated sigh. “I said this is your first test.” She gestured at the wall. “Once you find your way through the door more await. You must make it to the end of the arena to complete the trial.”

“What tests?”

“That is for you to find out. They are designed to test your character. Only the most competent have made it through.” She eyed him again, clearly not sure he would measure up.

“Well stand back and enjoy the razzle dazzle,” he smirked, throwing out jazz hands and everything.

She chuckled at that and inclined her head, motioning to the stands behind him. “Your friends will be watching.”

He turned to see Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, Allura and Coran all waving in his direction beckoning him towards them. As he turned to them the woman grabbed his arm.

“We will be watching, young paladin.” Her eyes gleamed. “It’s time to show the Piguan people the might of Voltron’s warriors.”

 _Geez no pressure,_ he thought wryly, but her fingers squeezed lightly in a reassuring gesture. “The trial begins soon. Good luck.”

Throwing her a quick smile he turned and jogged over to his team.

“Lance!” Pidge cried, throwing their arms around him when he got there. “The wall is a puzzle, I’ve been trying to figure it out but I need to get closer. Something about testing your true feelings.”

He hummed in thought. “Do you know what’s behind the door?”

“No, we can’t see. They’ve given us a holoscreen to watch you through the course but I haven’t been able to hack into the cameras yet.” The frown on their face made Lance smile.

“It’s okay Pidge, thanks.” He affectionately ruffled their hair to which the frown only deepened and small hands were soon pushing him away.

“Lance, buddy!” Hunk was the next to grab Lance up into a hug. “Stay safe out there.” He squeezed until Lance was sure he felt his back crack.

“Hunk, whoa. Hey big guy, don’t worry. You know I’ve got this.” He pushed against Hunk’s massive chest, trying to get some air back into his lungs.

“Yeah I know, I mean of course you do. I just worry you know. I’m not gonna be there to watch your back.”

Touched by Hunk’s concern, Lance gave him another quick squeeze before moving away. “Thanks man.”

Hunk smiled and pushed Lance lightly Shiro’s way. Shiro stood calmly, his energy soothing and allowing Lance to settle into the moment.

“Keep your head up and your eyes peeled. You’re a quick thinker and good under pressure. If you focus and stay mindful you’ll do great.”

Lance nodded and reached to place a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro returned the gesture and smiled back at Lance. “You’re representing Volton so show them what we can do.”

“Ah yes,” Coran cut into the moment. “Back in my day feats of skill and strength were quite the rage you know. Nothing like a good rolickezer with a snifgalmat to keep your whits about you.”

Slightly confused but pretty sure Coran was telling him to have fun he smiled and looked at Allura standing solemnly to the side.

“Princess, I already said don't worry. I’ll be back before you know it,” he said with his best bravado.

“Make sure that you do. We have more important matters to attend.” She tried to stay serious but gave him a quick quirk of her lips. “We’ll be cheering for you.”

A hush moved through the crowd as Allura finished her words and taking that as his queue, Lance turned to position himself in front of the wall. He was just about to peer at the weird markings again when he realized with a jolt that there was one person missing from his team.

He looked over to the group with a panicked look and mouthed, “Where’s Keith?”

It was Pidge that mouthed back. “At the end,” then gave him a thumbs up.

With a final slow exhale Lance turned back to the wall and looked up. The markings were definitely moving now. Almost swirling in slow motion, circling towards the door. But not all of them were. Frowning, Lance scratched his head in thought. As he continued staring a pattern seemed to emerge. Out of the swirling marks some turned slower, some faster, and some in the opposite direction. Hesitantly he reached out to touch one, feeling an inexplicable pull coming from it. When his hand hit the smooth surface he saw a picture flash in his mind. It was so brief he almost wasn’t sure he saw it, but he couldn’t ignore the feeling it left behind. The image had been Keith, hands still tied behind his back, standing impatiently somewhere in the arena. His large violet eyes remained in Lance’s mind like the echo of sunspots when he blinked.

Pulling back from the wall Lance looked at the markings. The ones that seemed to rotate in the same direction and speed as the one he touched now glowed with a faint colour. The same dark purple as Keith’s eyes. Smiling to himself Lance moved to touch another, getting the same brief flash of Keith, this time even feeling like the brooding boy was right beside him. The urge to be close to Keith grew and without thinking Lance quickly laid a hand on each and every purple mark, his yearning for Keith building until he finally leaned against the door, breath quick and heart rate spiked. With a loud click he felt the door swing inward as he stumbled to right himself before falling face first. The watching crowd cheered as Lance made it through the first hurdle.

Before he could even look around he felt a rush of air and noticed a hulking mass to the side barrelling towards him. Quick and light Lance rolled forward and out of the way as a large Piguan soldier yielding a thick staff swung down at the spot he was just in. Scrambling up Lance ducked and held his breath as the staff came whipping towards his face. He lunged away to put distance between himself and his attacker, frantically scanning the area for somewhere to go. There were large discs floating in the background but to get to them he had to get around the soldier. Just as a plan started to form the soldier was running towards him, staff coming at him fast. He dropped to a knee and lifted his arm just as his paladin shield materialized, blocking the blow. With his other hand he reached for his bayard but the soldier quickly kicked it out of his hand. They were too close for him to use the gun anyway.

Rolling to the side and dodging to the right he narrowly avoided another blow from the staff but not the leg that came out to kick his knee. Lance stumbled back but managed to turn it into another roll to the side. The attacks were coming head on and too quick, he needed time to think. This was just like sparring with Keith. _Keith. That was it!_ With a grin Lance remembered the defensive stance Keith had shown him and braced himself against the oncoming rush of the soldier. Just before he could strike Lance danced out of the way and jumped onto the back of the soldier, wrapping an arm around his neck in a sleeper hold. _Gotcha!_ The soldier could only flail his limbs and twist his body in an attempt to throw Lance off, but with Lance’s long arms and legs holding firm it was an impossible task. Lance gritted his teeth and squeezed, single minded in his focus. The soldier’s thrashing began to slow as his oxygen supply dwindled and as Lance felt him sway he released his grip and jumped off before the soldier went crashing to the ground. Lance bent to make sure the soldier was still breathing then stood with a triumphant grin. The crowd cheered louder and he couldn't help but flash a cocky grin and finger guns. They ate it up.

Adrenaline rising high, Lance set his sights on the floating discs in the distance. Stopping to pick up his bayard he jogged forward while glancing around to make sure there were no more soldiers waiting to attack. As he got closer he noticed the ground ahead seemed to drop off and when he reached the edge he saw a great canyon split the arena, the drop so high he couldn't see the ground below. The discs turned out to be great chunks of rock, somehow hovering mid air and randomly littered across the expanse of the chasm at different heights. He scanned his surroundings looking for a way across but it seemed the floating rocks were the only choice. The first one wasn't too far off so after a thoughtful pause and a last look around Lance steeled himself, back pedalled and sprinted towards the edge of the cliff, jumping off to fling his body at the rock. He landed with a jarring thud but both feet were firmly planted, steady and sure. Lance could feel the sweat start to trickle down his back, his breath heavy and laboured as he searched for the next one.

Distance wise it was a closer than the first had been but several feet lower. Hoping to land lightly, Lance made sure not to jump as hard for the second rock so he was completely unprepared when the rock began to fall with his weight. With a yelp he was suddenly free falling towards the dark abyss of the canyon, heart in his throat from the drop. He swallowed his fear and frantically looked for an escape. One came into view from the corner of his eye and he hurtled himself forward grabbing for the ledge with both hands when he realized he hadn't jumped far enough.

“Shit!” He breathed as his arms hit the rock, his chest slamming into the edge and feet dangling in the open air. He heard the collective gasp from the crowd, felt the panic rise higher within him and gripped hard into rock, desperately trying to hold on. For a moment he hung there while his mind tried to catch up. His heart rate was through the roof, pounding hard against his ribs and he took a deep breath to steady himself. Knowing he couldn't pull himself up on arm strength alone he started to rock his feet back and forth, hoping to use the momentum of his backswing. With a last rocking kick he pulled his upper body up and managed to swing a leg onto the ledge, allowing him to roll his body up. Thankfully _this_ hovering rock didn't move so he laid on his back for several moments, just breathing and trying to regain his bearings.

The crowd had picked up their cheering but being now halfway down the canyon the noise was muted. However it was still enough to finally get Lance on his feet and searching for the next rock. Looking around he noticed he was much closer to the other side of the canyon than he'd originally thought. The width of the gap narrowing the further down it went. Up the wall on the other side he noticed holds carved into the rock, forming what looked like a ladder that ran all the way to the top. If he could make it to that ladder he could probably climb his way out. _And get some serious cuddle time with Keith after this, goddammit._

Ready for this to be over, Lance decided it was time to just go for it and try make it to the ladder in a few bounds. Taking another deep breath to calm his nerves and steel his resolve he ran towards the ledge, jumped for the nearest rock and immediately continued running upon landing, jumping off again within seconds towards the cliff wall. It was too far to make alone so he used the jet pack from his paladin suit and flew towards the ladder. He smashed into the wall with more force than he’d calculated but somehow managed to cling to a couple hand holds, keeping himself sturdy. _Holy shit, had he really just made it?_ Looking up the sheer face of the cliff he groaned internally at the distance and began to climb, eager to be done with this. 

When he finally made it to the top he dropped to his knees, sucking in deep breaths and wincing at the burn in his lungs. _Damn, and I thought I was in shape too._ His muscles ached and body protested at the thought of moving any further but the noise of the crowd had reached deafening proportions. He looked up, scanning his surroundings and felt a jolt through his heart when he saw the familiar shape of his boyfriend not too far away. Keith was standing at the edge of an open plain, trapped in what looked like a cage, crackling blue bars surrounding him and hands still tied behind his back. The smile on his face was radiant, the awe and admiration plain in his gaze. As they locked eyes he saw Keith's mouth form one word, “Lance.”

Without even thinking, without even looking around, Lance got to his feet and ran towards Keith, wanting nothing more than to throw his arms around him. He watched as Keith's smile dropped and panic took over, followed by a loud shout. But it was too late because in that second Lance was slammed to the ground as it shook and groaned at his feet. Chunks of the earth beneath him gave way, falling into a chasm and leaving deep holes all around him. He scrambled to his feet searching for ground still around him. His path to Keith was crumbling before his eyes. He ran as fast as he could, jumping over missing ground, dodging debris and desperate for solid footing. With a final jump he activated the thrusters of his pack and flew the final feet to Keith's cage.

“Keith!” He cried and tried to reach his hands for him.

“Lance! Don't touch the bars!” Keith yelled just as Lance was violently thrown backwards, a sharp pain of shock reverberating up his arms. “Shit, Lance!”

Lance groaned and shook his head. His vision was blurry, the ground was shaking and his mind was hazy.

“Lance!”

“‘Mmkay,” he slurred.

“Lance, you have to get me out of here. It's the last test, this'll stop when the bars are down.”

Another large chunk of earth gave way beside Lance and he rolled to the side nearly colliding into the electric bars again.

“Lance.”

“Huh?”

Another chunk of land fell away.

“Lance!”

“What?”

Keith landed on his knees, bringing his face close. “You have to get these bars down. Come on Lance, you can do this.”

His tone was soft but insistent, it broke Lance out of his stupor and he blinked his eyes up at Keith. With his eyes piercing into Lance’s he was suddenly struck by just how beautiful Keith was, even in double vision. Actually, _especially_ in double vision because, _hello? Two Keith's!_

“Keith,” he breathed, clearly still out of it.

“Do you see that panel over there?” Keith jerked his chin behind Lance and he followed his eyes with the motion. High above the plain and far in the distance Lance could just make out a dark box in a blurry sea of beige.

“Ah, maybe?”

“Shoot it.”

“What? That's like a thousand miles away.”

Keith sighed, impatience getting the better of him. “It's not that far. But you're the sharpshooter right? You can hit it.”

Lance blinked again. His head was pounding, vision still blurry and all he really wanted to do was sleep for days, arms wrapped around Keith and face buried in his hair. Then he realized he _could_ do that. He just had to get them out of there and he would finally, _finally,_ be able to do just that. Kneeling up, Lance wobbled unsteadily at the motion, throwing an arm out to right himself. He reached for his bayard and activated the rifle, hoisting it onto his shoulder and looking through the scope. Vision still too blurry, he couldn't see anything at first but as he continued to squint things slowly came into focus. He saw the black box Keith had pointed to earlier and tried to calm the shaking of his limbs. _"You can hit it,"_ echoed Keith's words. With a final deep breath he slowly exhaled and squeezed the trigger, watching through the scope as the box exploded.

Suddenly the ground was no longer shaking and he felt a rush of air as the bars holding in Keith lowered, just before the warm body of Keith himself brushed against him.

“Lance, you did it! That was incredible!” He heard Keith say in breathless awe.

Wanting to feel Keith pressed against him, he quickly pushed to his feet and turned to embrace him, just as the world started to spin and black spots danced across his vision.

“Lance?” The panic in Keith's voice unmistakable.

Lance blindly reached out his arms, groping for something to hold on to. “K-Kei…,” he managed to get out before the darkness swam in front of his eyes and the ground rose to meet him.

“Lance!”

 


	11. Chapter 11

“Sit. Let me get it for you.”

“I can get my own food Keith,” Lance said in an exasperated voice. He'd been out of the healing pod for _hours_ now and was feeling totally fine, but Keith was hovering and treating him like he'd been in there for weeks after a near death experience, not just an hour to scan for injuries because he'd passed out for like a minute after completing the Piguan’s trial. He tried to stand but Keith held him down by his shoulders.

“Just let me Lance.”

“I said I was fine.”

“I know,” Keith’s commanding voice softened. “I just want to do it for you.” With his words he gave Lance a small shy smile.

Lance sighed in defeat. How could he deny Keith when he looked so caring? Riding high on the relief of finally being back in the Castle and far away from Puig he gave in pretty quick. Besides it wasn't like being pampered by his boyfriend was such a terrible thing. “Can you get me some water too?”

Keith's smile grew wider, and Lance’s heart swelled. “You got it.” But Keith didn't move. They stared at each other, each boy with a stupidly happy grin on their face.

“Ah, is this gonna be a thing now?” Pidge cut into their moment.

“A thing?” Lance reluctantly moved his gaze to Pidge, schooling his features into a mock innocent expression.

“A. Thing.” They repeated, tone curt. “It's bad enough knowing what you do in your spare time. We don't need to see you guys making eyes at each other too.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Keith's cheeks turn pink as he grabbed Lance’s dinner. Lance snorted, both at Pidge’s statement and Keith's reaction. He was just about to respond when Hunk jumped into the conversation.

“I think it's adorable. I'm happy for you guys.”

“Thank you _Hunk_.” Lance said, eyes narrowing at Pidge.

To this a terrifying and truly mischievous grin spreads across Pidge’s face. “Hunk you should be more against this than anyone. I know I wouldn't want another guy moving in on _my_ man.”

“What?!” Lance and Keith exclaimed at the same time. Keith fell into the seat next to Lance like lead, almost dropping the plate of food he'd been carrying.

Across the table Hunk’s face had gone the most brilliant shade of red Lance had ever seen on a human face. His eyes were down, not looking at anyone.

“Hunk, you didn't.” Keith was watching Hunk with a strange incredulous look.

“He did.” Pidge confirmed, looking positively gleeful.

“Did what? Keith? Hunk? Did what?” He sent confused, pleading looks between the two. He didn't like being the only one not knowing what was going on.

“Well someone had to.” Hunk was answering Keith. “I couldn't just let him stay in the agreement. He’s my best bud, I couldn't leave him like that.”

“What are you talking about?” Lance’s voice rose as his frustration did. Keith laid a calming hand on his thigh underneath the table then looked to Hunk, waiting for an answer, but when nothing came out of the big guy he turned back to Lance.

“The night of the celebration Pidge found a way to get you out of the breeding arrangement. I was coming to tell you when I… walked in on you and Rina...” Keith paused for a moment, whether to push the memory aside or because he didn’t want to elaborate further, Lance wasn’t sure. “I thought you didn't want out anymore so I called it off. But... it sounds like Hunk went ahead and took my place.”

Lance looked at Hunk again, willing his best friend to shed some light. Sheepishly Hunk returned his gaze but remained silent.

Pidge was the next to speak up. “You can’t be part of a Piguan breeding arrangement if you’re already bound to someone else and I remembered seeing a fairly simple ceremony back when we were on Olkari, so we contacted them for help, we found a priest, picked him up and Keith was supposed to get you but… we all know what happened after that,” they finished with a callous wave of their hand. Lance’s eyes grew impossibly wide. Wait… did that mean?

“Hunk?”

Finally Hunk found his voice. “So um, we’re like… kinda… married, dude.” The corners of his mouth curved in what Lance assumed might have been the beginnings of a smile but Hunk was still much to embarrassed for that.

Lance’s jaw went slack and he heard Pidge snicker at his gaping mouth but he couldn’t even process that because, holy shit, Hunk had _married_ him?

“Wha - you - we - we’re - how?” It was too much, his mind had been reduced to one word questions.

“I found Keith the morning after your fight but he was so sure you wanted to sleep with Rina that he wouldn’t even listen to me. But I mean I _knew_ you didn’t want that and I couldn’t just let my best bud be forced into it, so I sent Keith to make up with you and ran to the Olkari priest to marry you myself. How was I supposed to know you two would get into even more trouble after that?

Lance just could not believe what he was hearing. He and Hunk had been buddies for awhile now. They’d instantly attached themselves to each other at the Garrison and Lance was pretty sure that Hunk was one of only a handful of people that could handle him in all his various states and drama, but this? This was something else, this was next level commitment. Hunk was so good, so loyal and Lance was _so lucky._

“Hunk this is…” he searched for the right words, “so awesome!” 

“What? Really?” The surprise was clear on Hunk’s face. 

“Are you kidding me? I can’t believe you’d really do that for me. You’re the best, like the literal best.” 

“Well I love you dude, and I wanted you to be happy.” 

“I love you too big guy.” 

Lance pushed himself up from his seat and crossed over to Hunk, flinging his arms out and wrapping himself into a great big friendly bear hug. When he pulled away he looked back to see a sad and dejected looking Keith staring down at the table. Lance would’ve laughed if Keith hadn’t of looked so miserable, so instead he tried to lighten the mood. 

“How lucky am I? I’ve got the universe’s hottest boyfriend _and_ the best husband. If only my family could see me now!” 

Pidge groaned and Keith scowled at him, clearly not appreciative of the joke but, having already been established as the best, Hunk was quick to placate. 

“It doesn’t mean anything, I’m sure we can get the priest to reverse it. I mean you weren’t even there, how binding can it actually be?” 

Lance was already walking back over to Keith, reaching out to rub and soothing hand across his back. 

Yeah we’ll figure something out. In the meantime,” Lance turned his attention to Keith. “I hope you don’t mind playing the role of adulterer a while longer.” He sent Keith a wink when the dark haired boy finally looked up at him. An involuntary bubble of laughter escaped Keith and though he looked upset that he hadn’t hidden his amusement better the tension had left him at Lance’s quip. 

“Seriously though you guys. The fact that you were all so willing to help me means a lot.” 

“Yeah, well, we’re a team, we'll always look out for you,” Pidge answered while sending a smile out to Hunk and Keith as well. 

They settled down to finish their dinner together after that and the four teammates talked and joked with a companionable ease that had been severely missing due to the stress of the past few days. Lance thought more about how much everyone had done for him during the whole debacle and knew they didn’t do it just because they happened to be stuck in space with him. They truly did care for him as much as he did for them. They were more than just soldiers of Voltron, they were a family, and Lance finally allowed himself to believe that he might also play an important role within it. 

\--------

Lance was pretty proud of himself for maintaining his cool around the team since he'd emerged from the healing pod because since the moment Keith caught him stumbling out he had wanted nothing more than to take that beautiful man and retreat to some quiet corner where he could have Keith all to himself. But he’d been good. After dinner with Hunk and Pidge he’d gone off to find Allura and Coran on the flight deck and later Shiro training so he could thank them all for standing by him. It might seem silly but it was important to him that everyone knew how much their support had meant to him. And now _finally_ he was going to get his chance to thank the most important teammate of all. 

Keith had remained silent throughout most of dinner and when Lance had gone off to see the others Keith excused himself with a quick, “I’ll see you later.” But Lance still hadn’t seen him and worried that his boyfriend might be off somewhere silently brooding so he searched the castle for Keith. Not surprisingly he found him folded into the couch of the common room they’d had their late night talks on before the whole Puig mess. The warmth of those early memories flooded through Lance as he made his way to plop down next to Keith, startling the dark haired boy, which made Lance chuckle.

“Jumpy,” he teased. “Since when is it possible to sneak up on Keith Kogane?”

Keith huffed and turned his face away, mumbling something under his breath. But Lance was not about to let Keith’s weirdly morose mood bring him down. He threw an arm around Keith’s shoulder and brought his other hand gently to the Keith’s jaw, turning his face towards him.

“Sorry,” he said quietly, when those dark purple eyes met his. The depth and brilliance of them took Lance’s breath away.

Keith slowly exhaled and closed those bottomless eyes, bringing his forehead to rest against Lance’s. “I’m the one who should be sorry,” he whispered.

“What?” Lance was not expecting that.

“I - I should have had more faith in you. I was so sure you'd chosen Rina over me, I wouldn't even listen when you tried to explain.” He opened his eyes and pulled back to properly look at Lance. “I should have known you better.”

Lance could see the pain in his eyes, the sad slant to his mouth squeezing Lance’s heart. “Keith.” He reached out to grab one of Keith’s hands. “It's okay. This is new and we haven’t even been getting along for that long either.”

“Yeah but as the team leader I shouldn’t have acted like that. I was so quick to call it off with the Olkari priest and throw you under the bus. I should've stood by you no matter the personal cost.”

Lance snorted at that. “You think I'd have done any different? You were hurt Keith. I hurt you, and I'm so sorry for that.”

Now it was Keith’s turn to be surprised. “What? Don't be, it wasn't your fault.”

“Then it wasn't your fault either.”

Keith opened his mouth to reply but Lance cut him off. “You proved you had faith in me the minute you requested I fight in the trials for us. Rina provided you with an out and like a _great_ leader you took it and trusted me with it.”

“We had no other options.”

“There’s always options Keith. We could’ve just broken you out and severed all ties with the Piguans but you chose the right way. And the fact that you believed I could do it was everything to me. You were what got me through those trials, you helped me every step of the way.”

Keith looked down at their entwined hands, a pink blush heating his face. Lance felt the need to be closer rising through his body and stealing his breath. He leaned forward, hand moving without thought to brush the bangs out of Keith's eyes and gently placed a kiss to his forehead. He hovered there, lightly running his nose along Keith's hairline and down his temple, slowly drawing their mouths closer together. Keith mirrored the movement, bringing his face up until their lips were almost touching, his warm breath caressing Lance. A hand cupped the side of Lance’s cheek as Keith moved forward, firmly bringing their lips together. Lance felt the crackle of electricity spread from his lips and go straight to his heart at the contact. He tilted his head and slid his own hand up to grab the back of Keith's neck, his fingertips reaching into soft, dark hair. Their lips moved effortlessly against each other, warm and tender, taking their time and letting the heat grow slowly between them. When Keith sighed and parted his lips it took all of Lance’s self control to pull away, But there were better places for this to happen.

“Come with me,” Lance whispered hoarsely, tugging Keith up and tangling the fingers of their hands together to pull him along. But Keith, it seemed, wasn't ready to part just yet and he tugged back causing Lance to fall with his back pressed to Keith's chest as an arm wrapped around his waist to steady him. Keith's mouth ghosted up the back of his neck until a kiss was placed behind his ear. When he felt those soft lips latch onto the lobe of his ear he couldn't stop the tremor of anticipation that rolled through his body. “Keith,” he whined with a soft breath.

Keith released him and moved past with a playful smirk on his face as he dragged Lance towards the bedrooms. Lance felt a thrill pass over him when he realized they were heading to Keith’s room. The idea of being in Keith's personal space, being allowed to see that private side of him made Lance feel privileged in a way he never had before.

Their first encounters had been fuelled by hormones and long, aching desire and while those two things were very much still present, Lance could tell that things were changing. They were beginning to understand one another, to trust and to cherish. And that's what Lance wanted now. He wanted to cherish Keith. To show him that trust and have it returned. He wanted to take care of him.

As the door slid shut behind them Lance reached his hands for Keith’s hair, gathering it up and exposing the back of his neck. Lance pressed himself against Keith’s back, sucking and nibbling the side of his neck. He dropped a hand from Keith’s hair to wrap around his middle, sliding it under Keith’s shirt to smooth along his abs and up towards his chest. Tracing the mounds and dips of his ribs and muscles before resting his hand over Keith’s heart which was beating a steady, powerful rhythm below. Keith pushed himself back and let his head drop to Lance’s shoulder, a breathy moan escaping.

Encouraged, Lance slowly pushed forward, walking them towards the waiting bed. He ran his hands along the sides of Keith’s body, dragging his shirt up as he went. Keith turned when his shirt fell away, placing a quick kiss to Lance’s lips before tearing off his shirt as well. Eager to feel the bare expanse of Keith’s creamy, pale skin against his own Lance pushed against him with a little too much zeal and they toppled onto the bed, a tiny giggle escaping Lance as he mocked his own smoothness. The resulting genuinely fond smile that crossed Keith’s face did more for Lance’s desire than he expected. _This boy is so beautiful!_

Spurred on by that thought, Lance surged forward to claim Keith’s lips, tongue darting across the seam of his lips in silent demand. Keith met his demand and parted his mouth, meeting Lance’s lust. They pressed deep and searching into each other, gasping and trembling together as their need for the other grew between them. Lance’s roaming hands began to move with purpose, sliding down towards the waistband of Keith’s pants. He lightly teased the skin there, gently stroking along the edge. Keith shuddered against him and tightened his grip on Lance’s shoulder, sliding his thigh in between Lance’s legs and pushing into his hardening length.

“Fuck… feels good,” Lance whispered, losing himself to the sensation. He ground against Keith’s leg while his fingers found their way to Keith’s zipper, suddenly desperate to get those tight black jeans off. Keith was not making it easy, still too busy pushing his body against Lance and quietly sighing. Lance rolled their bodies so he hovered over Keith and broke from his lips to place adoring kisses along his throat and down with chest while he palmed Keith with his hand. Keith whined and pushed his hips up.

“Lance,” Keith moaned, sounding so loving and desperate that Lance latched onto his nipple to get even more noise out of his boyfriend. Keith cried out and clamped his hands into Lance’s hair, holding him in place while he continued to grind into Lance’s hands. Licking and sucking the sensitive nub, Lance moved his hands to remove Keith’s pants, deciding to bring the boxers with him so he could touch Keith the way he longed to. He grabbed onto Keith’s cock and felt a surge of pride as a truly dirty whine fell from Keith’s mouth when his hand slid along Keith’s length.

“Let me hear you Keith,” he whispered against Keith’s neck, revelling in the breathy, “oh,” that Keith answered with. Keith was beside himself in Lance’s hand, squirming his hips and scrambling his hands across Lance’s back, nails shallowly digging in. Emboldened by his obvious pleasure Lance lowered his hand to press against Keith’s entrance, the pads of his fingers circling the tight ring of muscle.

“Ah…. Lance. Please,” Keith begged.

“Lube?” Lance purred the question.

Keith, barely coherent, jerked his chin towards the bedside table, leaning in to kiss along Lance’s arm and ensure he didn’t move too far away from him. Lance quickly found the bottle, flicking the cap and coating his fingers until he settled back between Keith’s parted and waiting legs. He dipped his hand and slowly pressed a finger up and into Keith.

“Oh, fuuuuck,” Keith groaned lowly, rolling his head to the side while his eyelids fluttered shut.

The tight heat of Keith around Lance’s finger had his head spinning and an all consuming want dove straight to his groin. Lance moaned with Keith as his finger pumped inside. Dizzy with need Lance pressed another finger but hesitated, nudging the side of Keith’s face with his nose, silently asking permission. With a shaky breath Keith responded. 

“Yes - please - more.”

Keith’s body shuddered and tensed when the second finger joined the first. Leaning down, Lance pressed light, loving kisses against Keith’s neck and jaw, sensing the hesitation he might have at being vulnerable like this. Responding to his gentle kisses Keith turned his head to hesitantly meet his lips, his eyes open in silent pleading.

“I’m here,” Lance reassured, pressing more kisses to Keith’s lips and ever so slowly moving his fingers, opening his eyes to hold Keith’s to him. Keith began to melt under his gaze and touch and soon he was a moaning, writhing mess once again. Lance could feel his heart hammering against his chest and his hard cock aching against his pants. He jerked when he felt the light touch of Keith’s hand against him.

“Lance - can you - I want…” 

“Hmm… what do you want?”

Keith gasped, trying to collect his thoughts. “You… ah…. inside me.”

_Oh fuck._

Just the thought had Lance reaching to remove his pants before he knew what he was doing. Keith nipped at his chest and ran his tongue along dark skin while he helped with the last of Lance’s clothes, reaching for the bottle, he was ready with wet hands to rub along Lance’s length. Already hyper aware and sensitive to Keith’s actions Lance bit his lip to keep himself together in Keith’s hands. Ready for more he moved to line up his cock and paused, eyes catching on to Keith’s. Those dark violet eyes were wide and wanting but Lance caught the glimmer of uncertainty in them.

He brought his hand up to cup the side of Keith’s face, gently smoothing his thumb along the high cheekbone. “Keith,” he whispered.

The depth of those eyes caused his heart to flutter and had him wanting to say more but he held his tongue at the slight nod from Keith. Instead slowly pushing in and gasping, all thoughts falling from his head in an awe-struck swirl. A powerful and confusing ball of emotions hit him, want, desire, passion, fondness, _love_ , it was so overwhelmingly perfect.

He tried to express his feelings in actions. In the way he worshipped Keith’s body in gentle caresses and adoring looks. How he murmured his name with reverence and pressed himself deep inside, wanting to be good for Keith. Keith responded with moans and cries. He clung onto Lance’s waist with one arm while the other had made its way to the back of his neck, holding Lance firm. His back arched up and their chests pressed together. Lance mouthed along his jawline, sucking and biting, urging Keith to delirium.

He was close and he was beautiful and his need for _Lance_ was staggering. Lance needed him just as bad. Hoping to push them both over the edge Lance brought their mouths together for a passionate kiss. He poured his heart into it, allowing all the things he felt, but were too early to say, to fall from lips and tongue in shaking gasps. Keith kissed back with the same abandon and the scorching heat that built between them started to break.

Keith spread his legs as far as they would go and pushed his pelvis up to meet Lance on every thrust. His thighs were shaking violently and the sharp swivel of Lance’s hips had Keith shouting and clenching around Lance in seconds. Lance distantly heard his name raspily cried in his ears as his own cry tore from his throat. He gasped and shuddered, gripping onto Keith like an anchor, as wave after wave of blissful oblivion overtook him. He buried his head in Keith's neck and continued to kiss every inch of skin within his reach as they came down together. Warm hands ran through his hair, tugging his mouth back up to Keith's. They kissed in sloppy afterglow, too much fervor and not enough self control to refrain from drooling all over one another.

Lance pulled back as he began to soften, the small whine Keith gave at the loss making him wince in sympathy. After cleaning them both up he wrapped his long arms around Keith pulling him into a tight embrace, Keith’s warm breath ghosting along his collarbone when he tucked his head under Lance’s chin. Lazily Lance traced patterns across Keith’s back, enjoying the soft peacefulness of the moment. As his mind wandered aimlessly over the past few days events a thought suddenly popped into his head.

“Hey Keith,” he asked hesitantly

“Hmmm…”

“At dinner, when you realized what Hunk had done… did you say he took your place?”

Keith tensed slightly underneath him while a long silence stretched between them.

“Keith?”

“Um,” Keith cleared his throat. “Yeah, I - he did.”

“Were _you_ going to marry me?”

“I… ah… yeah?” Keith hesitantly peeked up at Lance, eyes searching his own for a reaction.

Lance couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face, much like the warmth that was spreading through his chest at the thought of one day being married to Keith. “You would have done that? For me?”

“Well yeah. At the time we thought it was our only option.” Keith seemed confused by Lance’s question.

“It’s just… you don’t really seem like the commitment type.”

“Oh. Well I guess I just-” Keith struggled to find the right words. “I’ve never really had anyone stick around before. Sometimes it’s just easier not to get… attached in the first place.” He ducked his head back under Lance’s chin, seemingly embarrassed to have made that confession.

Lance thought of all the people who had stayed by his side in his life. His friends and family, and now his space family. He couldn’t imagine a life where those people had never existed. His heart ached painfully for the man in his arms. This brave, loyal and loving man who deserved to be loved back and treated like the rare and treasured person that he was. Lance resolved in that moment to do just that.

He reached both his hands to Keith’s face bringing him out from under his chin so he could hold his gaze. “Well I’m already pretty attached to you. I won’t go anywhere as long as you’ll have me,” he said in earnest.

Keith caught his breath and the moment stretched before them. Lance watched him worry his lip as his eyes darted between Lance’s, searching for truth. Whatever he found Lance noticed the glistening pools form in the corner of his eyes as he leaned his forehead to Lance’s and whispered, “I’m pretty attached to you too.”

Sliding their noses against each other Keith pushed out his chin so their lips could meet in a sweet, tender kiss to seal the unspoken feelings between them. “Stay with me,” Keith whispered.

Lance moved a hand to press over Keith’s heart, the other still gently holding his face as his thumb moved to sweep away a tear.

“Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wondering if anyone would be interested in an epilogue of sorts? Maybe a little reunion when Keith returns to Voltron after his mission with the BOM? A little post season 4 chapter?
> 
>  **Update October 21/17:** Rather than do an epilogue I decided to post a one shot and make this a series. [I Need You Alive](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12445254) takes place right after season 4.


End file.
